


Terminally Rewritten

by Roslein



Category: Tegami Bachi | Letter Bee
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Manga-centric, Multi, My First AO3 Post, Mystery, Spoilers, Timeline deviation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-05
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 00:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16587308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roslein/pseuds/Roslein
Summary: A story about a Bee and a strange girl who works in a tavern that isn't what it seems.





	1. The Ivory Tree Tavern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lag makes a deal with strange girl who works in a tavern.

Lag was alone, bored and completely unsure what to do with himself. Sylvette had gone off grocery shopping, and had taken Niche with her, which left Lag with at least half a bell to himself for whatever he wanted.

…but he had no idea what he wanted.

You’d think after the few months he’d been living in Central he’d have some idea on how to entertain himself while his housemate ran some errands, but apparently not.

And so, Lag Seeing found himself wandering random streets of Central, window shopping.

Central Yuusari was nice this time of year, a warm breeze washed through the streets, kicking up leaves and flower petals that sprinkled the cobblestone roads. As Lag wandered through the streets, he found himself outside a small café. It was kind of cute, the structure was made from mahogany, with two large stained-glass windows at the front. Small flower plants lined the front of the store, as well as a wreath which decorated a small menu chalkboard.

Lag stopped and stared, should he go in? He wasn’t that hungry, but if he did go in, he could use it as an excuse to get out of Sylvette’s soup.  
He would blame it all on Connor.

Yes. It was a flawless plan.

He opened the door, and a bell rang out through the small place. It was mostly empty, there was a total of five tables in the room, each with a small bouquet in the centre. There was a dusty piano against the far wall to Lag’s left, and an old record player beside it. He guessed it got too expensive for live acts these days. A girl with cropped red hair looked over her shoulder from where she was serving an elderly couple.

“Oh, welcome!” She said cheerfully, she turned towards the kitchen, “Bree! You got a customer!”

There was an audible groan, “Dammit, Julie, I just sat down!”

Julie sighed and apologized to the couple, who just chuckled, seemingly used to the shouting. Lag seated himself at a table and took of his hat, looking around.

“Welcome to the Ivory Tree tavern, can I get you anything?”

Lag looked over towards the voice to be met by a girl with long brown curls and blue eyes with a stare that seemed to cut through him. Guess this was Bree, then.  
He stared back at her, kind of taken back by her eyes, before awkwardly fidgeting, “U-Uh, I haven’t been here before, so…uh, what do you recommend?” He chuckled nervously.

Her mouth twisted as she considered his question. Honestly, she worked here, so eating here was kind of a no-go, however…

Her eyes lit up with an idea and she quickly glanced around, as if she was about to tell a terrible secret and no one else could hear.  
“How about I get you the special and if you don’t like it, it’s on me.” She grinned, leaning on the table.

“Uh, sure?” It wouldn’t hurt, right? Lag pondered this as the girl turned towards the kitchen, her grin noticeably wider now that he had agreed to what he feared was a scheme.

In the kitchen, Bree patted the back of her co-worker, a petite girl with long, straight black hair and dark eyes. “Hey, Zallie! One order of today’s tea, please!”

The girl, Zallie, looked up at the other with confusion in her eyes, “But…Bree, it’s not on the menu…”

Bree sighed in annoyance, “Zailia, listen. Your tea is the best in Amberground, I swear. We need to teach the boss that just because he’s in charge, he doesn’t know everything about everything, okay? So, one tea of the day, yeah?”

Zailia’s eyes widened with childish excitement as she hugged Bree around the waist, “Oh, thank you very much, Miss Bree! I’ll do my best to make the best tea I can!”

Bree patted her head and chuckled, “Knock ‘em dead, tiger.”

Bree moved to sit on the bench next to a girl, with features similar to that of Zailia, except her hair was pulled into a messy braid.

“Thanks.” The girl muttered, earning her a grin from Bree. “My li’l sis needs some recognition around here.”

“Don’t worry about it, Azalea. I’m expecting you to buy me snack though on our break.” Bree sang, giving Azalea a wink.

“Don’t bet on it. I’ve got a boy coming ‘round.”

“Ooh, a quickie in the kitchen, hm? How romantic.” Bree teased.

Azalea shoved her, snickering, “Shut up. You know nothin’.”

“I know enough~!” Bree sang, slipping off the bench, heading back over to where Zailia was placing a tea cup on a tray, ready to be served.

“Today’s tea is lavender.” The small girl informed, handing the tray to the other.

“Got it. Thanks, Zal.”

The brunette girl carried the tray to Lag’s table and placed the cup in front of him. “I heard it's lavender today. Hope you like it.”

“Thank you…” He murmured, gingerly picking up the cup. It was gorgeous, perhaps one of those vintage ones he saw at the markets once. He had no idea what they were called, but the floral pattern on it was pretty. He took a sip, and the warmth that enveloped him was in describable. “It’s…delicious.” He breathed. Bree was overcome by a look of joy.

“Yes! See, I knew her tea is the best!”

Lag looked up at that comment, “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, who’s ‘her’?”

“Oh, her name is Zailia. She works here, and makes most of our beverages. Her tea is to die for, but because our owner is an arrogant asshole, he won’t let anything but booze be on our drinks menu.”

“Oh…that’s a shame.” He took another sip.

“Alexanders!!” There was a roar from the kitchen, making Lag flinch.

Bree sighed, “Speak of the devil…”

A burly man wearing a dirty white shirt and dark trousers glares at Bree from behind the counter. The brunette girl rolls her eyes and saunters over, seemingly bored.  
“How many times have I told you that we are a tavern and not some pancy ass cafe?!” He roars, slamming his hands on the counter.

“And how many times have I told you that Zailia’s tea is at least a hundred times better than the piss you sell!”

She’s going to get herself fired if she talks to her boss like that, Lag mused.

“There will be no tea in my tavern! You mention it again and I’ll put you and the other girl out on the streets, you hear me?”

Bree visibly faltered at that, making the man smirk triumphantly.

“Well, it’s your loss then. It’s your business going broke so what do I care if I get kicked out.”

“What did you just say to me?!”

The old couple at the table against the wall excused themselves quickly, leaving some money on the table.

“I said you’re going to go broke.” Bree then pointed at Lag, “You see that gentleman right there? You see his uniform? He’s a Bee, and the Beehive director is quite a fan of tea. He’s come here because word on the street is we serve the best tea in town. It’d be a shame if we had to turn away his business.”

The owner’s gaze turns to Lag, who shrinks in his seat at the heated glare.

“Boy! Is that true?” The owner roars. Lag takes a quick glance at Bree, who gives him a curt nod, her eyes hard. It’s as if she’s telling him if he screws this up, blood will be spilt.

“Y-Yes, sir. Director Lloyd is willing to come here personally…b-but if there’s no tea served here I can tell him…”

The owner’s eyes narrow and he straightens up, watching Lag carefully, to see if he’s lying. He then looks to Bree, who nods with a smile, as if to confirm Lag’s statement, and then marches over to Lag’s table.

Lag stares fearfully up at the towering man before him as he glowers down, but his fear soon turns to utter befuddlement as the burly man breaks out in a sheepish grin.

“Ah, sorry you had to see that! I’m Rupert Geodes, owner of this tavern. Please tell, uh, Director Lloyd, was it? Please tell him we’d be happy to serve any tea he would like. We’ll even have a board posted outside the shop with the tea of the day! How does that sound? What’s your name, boy?”

“Um, Lag Seeing…”

Rupert tooks Lag hand and shook, “Well, Mr Seeing, I look forward to doing business with you!” He laughed, and Lag shot a glance at the smirking brunette waitress.

\---

“You lied to your boss!” Lag exclaimed in a hushed whisper as Bree took the now empty teacup from his table.

“Yeah, and we made a girl’s life better because of it.” Bree didn’t seem to understand the concept of respecting your superiors.

Lag looked over towards the kitchen and spotted Zailia watching them, upon being discovered, the small black-haired girl quickly busies herself with something else.

Bree chuckled, “Zallie won’t say anything because she’s too shy. But she’s really grateful for what you did.”

“Yeah…But what will happen when the owner finds out we lied…”

“Then, we don’t let him find out?”

“I told him the Director will come here personally!”

“Then convince to actually show up? You’ll figure something out, you’re a smart guy; I’m sure.”

Lag sighed, there was no point arguing now. This girl was way too carefree.

“Anyway, Lag Seeing. I’m also super appreciative of your lovely cooperation in my schemes. You’re welcome to the Ivory Tree tavern anytime! Stop by on your way to work tomorrow morning! I got an early shift, I’ll shout you breakfast as thanks, sound good?”

Free food equals less spending money and less Sylvette’s soup.

“Sure. See you tomorrow then.”

Lag is at least forty percent sure he just got himself involved in something he shouldn’t have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I initially started on Fanfiction a long time ago and now it's here.  
> It's my pride and joy.  
> I hope you enjoy it.


	2. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Repayments are made and Lag is a dork.

So, it’s morning, which is always hard to determine with the permanent freaking twilight, Its morning and you got the earliest shift of the day. There’s pros and cons to this situation.

Cons: Waking up early, a general ‘fuck you’ to anyone who ever existed

Pros: Leaving earlier and having most of the day to do whatever. Also, that Lag kid is stopping by.

So, they pros seem to outweigh the cons and you drag your lazy ass out of your shitty bed and dress in your shitty clothes and leave your shitty apartment that you may or may not have acquired through illegal means.

No one cares about details anyway. Unless you’re some loser writing an online story or something. But who actually does that?

Luckily, your job at Ivory Tree Tavern is close to your home, and Zallie makes coffee. You slouch through the streets, empty and cold, not many people are out and about, besides the usual merchants setting up for the day. You nod respectfully at some in a greeting, and go on your way.

You get to the oak door of the tavern and tug on the handle.

Locked.

This is strange, because Zallie is always first in, bright and early, every day, because she usually opts for first shift…

The shift you just remembered you now have.

Your name is Bree Alexanders, and you left your goddamned work key at home again.

A good half an hour later, the shop is open, and by that, it means the front door is unlocked. There’s still a bunch of setting up to do. Bree grumbled to herself as she worked, pulling the chair off the tables, checking the till, and doing general cleaning in the kitchen and in the dining area. Next up, she had to set each of the tables and booths, write up the announcement board that sat outside the shop, start cooking, and only then, is the tavern actually open.

Bree manage to get to ‘checking the till’ before she flopped over the counter in sheer exhaustion and lack of ability to care.

That’s when the familiar sound of the bell signalling that a customer has entered echoes through the small tavern.

“Closed.” She grunts, her face still thoroughly examining the wood of the counter.

“Um, Bree?”

She looks up to see the Bee from yesterday peeking his head in the front door.

“Lag! Hey! Come in!” Bree exclaims, grinning widely.

He shuffles in, “Are you sure this is okay, you said you were closed…”

“Closed to those who didn’t do me a huge favor.” She clarified, “Now, what’re you having? M’fraid Zallie’s not in till later. I totally forgot. But I’ll cook you anything you want!”

“Cook?” An obviously feminine voice pipes up from behind Lag. Looking towards the voice showed a small girl, with golden blond hair in twin ponytails. Her glare could’ve chilled a man to the bone.

Bree raised an eyebrow at Lag, who just stares at her quizzically.

“Your…dingo, I presume?”

“Yes, her name is—“

“I’m Niche! Lag’s dingo! And this is Steak who is gross unless you cook him!” The girl, Niche, apparently, cuts in.

Bree bends down so she’s closer to her level, “You like food, Niche?”

“Is it pukey?” She asks, very seriously.

“Well, I’m not going to lie, I’m not a good cook, but I don’t think it’ll be deadly.”

Niche thought it over for a few moments, her brow creased in deep concentration. Eventually, she nodded, and Bree grinned.

“I’m afraid we’re still a tavern, not a café or a diner or any of that, so don’t expect much, but I’m sure I can whip something up out of whatever.” Bree looked to Lag apologetically, who smiled in return.

“Anything is fine. It’s enough that you’d be willing to…”

“Oh, please!” She cut him off, “I told you I was thanking you for helping us out! It probably seemed like you didn’t do much, but you seriously have no idea how much it means to me, and to Zal, of course.”

He didn’t say anything, just kind of nodded sheepishly.

“Right! So…two orders of whatever! On it!” Bree strut her way towards the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable!” She called back to Lag, who seemed extremely lost.

Bree managed to gather up some eggs and bacon and tomatoes that she could whip up. As she cooked, she called out to Lag. “Must have been nice waking up knowing you didn’t have to make yourself breakfast this morning, huh?”

“Oh, well, my housemate is kind enough to cook for all of us.” He answered. Bree looked over her shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow and he simply smiled. “Her name is Sylvette. She’s the same age as me.”

Bree grinned. “Sylvette, huh? You sure she’s just a housemate?”

“What do you mean by that?” Oh boy.

“Is she your girlfriend? Do you like her?” She looked away from the fry pan again to smirk at him as she teased.

He turned bright scarlet. “No!”

“Oh~ So you don’t like her then?”

“N-No! I mean, that’s not what I meant! I do like her! But n-not in that way…” He was quickly becoming flustered and stumbled over his words. Bree couldn’t help thinking what a dork Lag was.

Bree laughed, “I’m just teasing you, Lag.” She could hear him sigh in relief at that topic ending. “But, I have to ask…Why’d you want to skip out on breakfast? Is her cooking really bad or something?”

It became so deathly quiet Bree thought he left. Even Niche’s exploring came to halt.

“That bad, huh?” She snickered.

Lag sighed. “She means well, and I don’t want to be mean but…there’s really only one other person beside her that could eat it. It’s that bad.”

“Who’s the other person?”

“Her older brother, Gauche.”

Bree began serving up the now-cooked breakfast onto two plates. “Gauche, huh…That name kind of sounds familiar…”

“You know Gauche?” His voice rose in excitement at the thought of her knowing his idol.

“Well, I don’t know him personally…if I did, I’d definitely remember him.” She chewed my lip in concentration. “Oh! Yeah! I heard a couple customers talk about him, I think. He’s the Bee’s Ace, right? On his way to Akatsuki, right? Wow, your housemate is his sister? That’s pretty intense. You must be living with him, right? Oh, wait, no, he went to Akatsuki, didn’t he?”

Lag didn’t say a word in response to Bree’s babble.

“Lag?” She turned around again to make sure he was still there.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry…Um…” He paused to take a breath. “Gauche is…missing, actually…”

“Oh, Lag, I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s fine. He’s not here now, but…I’m definitely going to bring him back!” Lag’s voice was laced with an unwavering determination. So much that Bree couldn’t help but smile.

“If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.” He smiled back at her, gratefully, but she cut him off before he could offer his thanks. “But when he gets back, you have to let me meet him, okay?”

He nods, “It’s a promise.”

“Good.”

As Bree made her way out of the kitchen with the food, she caught glance of the face of the old grandfather clock that stood proudly against the wall.

“Shit! Lag, you’re going to be late for work!” He gave her a blank stare, as if he had forgotten that work was a thing he actually did. “Here, I’ll pack up the food into a lunch box or something, since it’s cooked and all. You don’t mind do you? Better than eating that soup that your housemate packed you, right?”

Lag flinched out of his stupor, “Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks.” He stood and looked around for his dingo. “Niche!”

The girl in question popped her head out from behind a station in the kitchen, a half-eaten apple in her hands. “Lag. We go now?”

“Ah, Niche! You can’t eat what isn’t yours! And yes, we’re going now.”

Bree finished packing up the food and shoved the box at Lag. “Quickly! You can’t be late now. Gotta deliver letters to people and all that stuff. You can return these whenever.”

Lag nodded, “Right! Let’s go, Niche. Oh, thank you for the food, Bree!” He turned to hurry out the door.

“It’s no problem. Have a good day at work.” Bree waved them off.

Lag stopped in the doorway to look back at the girl, with a puzzled and slightly creeped out look on his face.

She tilted her head in question, but he merely shook it off with a smile and headed off.

As Bree turned back to open the tavern for the day, it dawned on her.

That’s right.

He never told her the gross food he mentioned was soup.

Or that he had it for lunch.

…whoops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading this now...I don't like it  
> It's funny how much my writing has changed over time.  
> The first hint is in this chapter.  
> I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear what you think.


	3. Lunch Boxes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bree vaguely gains Niche's approval.

Lag looked down at the now empty lunch box in his hands. He honestly didn’t know what to think of the brunette waitress named Bree. She seemed very energetic, a girl that would make him feel drained after talking with her. She was kind though, he definitely could give her that.

“Lag.”

Lag looked up from the container in his hand to look at his dingo, and smiled, “What is it, Niche?”

“Is Lag sick? Does Lag feel pain?” The blonde girl hopped closer in concern, Steak uttering a small noise of his own worry.

“I’m fine, Niche. Thanks.”

“Then why is Lag looking far away?”

Lag halted for a moment, “Far away?”

“Did Lag see a gaichuu?!” Niche jumped, brandishing her swords with eager determination to protect her friend and master.

“No, no, it’s nothing like that, Niche. I was just thinking.” Lag hesitantly reached out, attempting to calm her with a nervous smile.

“Thinking?” Niche tilted her head.

“Yeah…Actually, can I ask you something?”

“Of course! Niche will answer as Lag’s dingo!”

Lag chuckled. His dingo was so silly. “Niche, what do you think of Bree?”

“Bree?” Niche gave him a puzzled look. Her lack of concern to her surroundings made Lag slightly nervous for Niche’s wellbeing.

“The girl that gave us food this morning.”

That reminded Niche no problem at all. “Her food is better than Sylvette’s soup! Niche has eaten better! But this food is good enough!”

“I’m going to guess that means you like her?” It seems that, for Niche, if the person in question gave her good food, she liked them.

Niche didn’t respond and went off hopping around again, leaving Lag to his thoughts.

“She has been kind to us. I should probably do something to repay her…” Lag mumbled to himself. But how should he do such a thing? He didn’t want to come off as weird. You wouldn’t normally thank someone for something to trivial, right? But then again, being saved from Sylvette’s soup is definitely something worth thanking. 

It had to be the perfect balance. That conclusion didn’t really give him any ideas on what to do though. Lag was pretty easy to get on with, and he had no trouble making friends with other people, but he still didn’t really have much experience on the matter. In Coza Bel, it was just his mother and himself, occasionally the merchants from Rengus. Cambel Litus was a bit more successful, but by that point he was too obsessed with becoming a Bee to worry himself too much with things like friendships and whatnot. Now that he thought about it, he could count on one hand how many close friends he actually had. There was Gauche, Connor, Zazie, 

Niche and Sylvette. Even though, two of those five were girls, so he’d probably be fine…..right?

He put the lunchbox back in his bag, and smiled, there was nothing to worry about; Bree was pretty carefree after all. All he had to be nervous about is whether or not   
Niche’s clean enough to be actually allowed in the house this time.

\-----

When Bree got into work the next morning, Zalia told her that Lag left her something on the counter. It was the lunchbox, nicely cleaned, with a small thank you note. 

Bree smirked to herself. The note was an extra touch, to show that he was grateful, but didn’t say much, preventing from him seeming to be overemotional. Lag was probably thinking how smooth he was, wherever he was. Bree sighed, chucked the lunchbox with the rest of the disposable left-over containers and went on with her day at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter for short tempers.


	4. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lag makes good on a promise he didn't make. Zazie is threatened.

It’s been two weeks since Bree made lunch for that one weird Bee with the weirder dingo. He occasionally stopped by, but they never spoke, the most they got out of each other was a smile here or there, and that was it. She had mostly forgotten about him, and that he even existed, but sometimes, Bree would find herself thinking about him, and wondering what he was doing, and if he was going to visit again.

Now was one of those times. Business had picked up since the introduction of Zailia’s tea, much to the delight of the manager and Bree’s ego. The tea became the forefront of their business, and the brunette was often caught sending smug glances to her boss, as if to gloat about how right she was on the whole ordeal.

But even with all this new business, they all wanted tea, and Bree, as someone who could not make said tea (at least, not like Zalia could), was often left with nothing to do. Julie tried to get her into sewing, or braiding, but she mostly got frustrated and had to keep asking for help, which interrupted the other girls, so that hobby soon stopped.

“I feel like I’ve been demoted.” She grumbled, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed.

“Bree! Customer!” Azalea called from the counter, where she was serving their elderly regulars.

“Okay, got it!” Bree called back and began over towards the customer as he sat down. “Welcome to the Ivory Tavern, what can I get for you?”

“I heard from an employee of mine that this tavern has the best tea in Yuusari.” The customer spoke, amusement in his voice.

“I’ll jot that down as one ‘tea of the day’, yeah?” Bree chuckled, scribbling down in her notepad. “Give your employee my thanks, we’re always up to welcome new customers!”

“Yes, I’ve heard. But my employee did also mention that the waitresses had a habit of…scheming, shall we say?”

At this, Bree looked up in confusion and met the eyes of her customer. The man seated in front of her was smirking, his elbow on the table, looking up at her. It was none other than Largo Lloyd, Director of the Beehive himself.

Bree chuckled nervously, “Ahaha, your employee wouldn’t happen to be Lag, would it?”

“Oh, you know him?” Lloyd asked with a mocking tone.

Bree played with her hair a bit, sheepishly, “Yeah…um, I may have kind of forced him into being my scape goat once. I snapped at my boss telling him to put my friend’s tea on the menu because Lag was here confirming whether it was on the menu or not because his boss, you, wanted tea.”

“That explains his slightly panicked state when he begged me to come down here.”

Bree quirked a brow. She could definitely picture Lag frantically begging his boss. He probably bowed really low and practically shouted his request. Bree’s lips quirked up in a small smile at the thought.

“Reasons aside, I appreciate your coming here. It definitely saved me some awkward, angry conversations with my manager later.” Bree laughed it off.

“I’m looking forward to this tea.” Lloyd smiled and Bree nodded before turning away to hand in the order.

-xXx-xXx-xXx-

It was one of the warmer afternoons for the season, and Bree was leaning against the wall outside of a small store, waiting on Zailia as she ran errands for the tavern.

The bell on the top of the door rang, causing the brunette to look up, seeing Zailia wave with a smile at the storekeeper, bag in her arm, as she left the store.

“Thank you very much for waiting, Miss Bree.” Zailia’s smile was always so bright and pure, you always had to smile back, no matter what your mood was.

“It’s no problem, Zal. Did you get everything you need?” Bree stood straight and looked down at the smaller girl, looking out for a shopping list of some sort.

“Um, yes, mostly. I, um, just need one more thing. There is some flowers that grow just outside of Central, I would quite like to have them for my tea…I am thinking of trying a new blend for the coming winter, to raise our customers’ spirits.” Zailia smiled once more at the thought of making her customers happy.

“Sounds pretty darn swell to me. You know where the flowers are?” Zailia nodded. “Then, lead the way!”

“I am sorry for forcing you to escort me around on my errands. I have told my elder sister that I am just fine on my own, but…”

Bree sighed, she knew exactly what Zallie was trying to get at. Azalea had always been protective of her cute little sister, and has grown even more so now that Zailia is older. Zailia was always a pretty child, and growing up she has only become cuter. Her sweet personality has only made her even more endearing, and though she doesn’t quite understand why she is often the center of teenage boys’ attention, she is very much aware that she is, which makes her very shy. This timid reaction makes her even more popular, much to Bree’s befuddlement.

“It’s alright, Z. You’re too young to get married anyway.” Bree shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets.

Zailia turned bright red. “W-W-What do you mean by that?! There is no way—I mean, I am…I—Well…”

Bree laughed and ruffled Zailia’s black hair. “Don’t worry about it, Zal. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh…Bree?”

The girl in question turned at the sound of her name and her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Oh! It’s the little Bee! I haven’t seen you lately, Lag.” Bree jogged over   
with a smile towards him, and only just noticed the presence beside him. “And this is…bigger Bee?”

“My name is Zazie.” The boy muttered, slightly irritated.

“Huh. Bree. Nice to meet you, I guess. Oh! Zal, you remember Lag, right?” Bree turned to look over her shoulder at Zailia, who was busily fixing her bangs after Bree’s   
crude ruffling.

“Um, yes! I think so…” Zailia quickly returned to Bree’s side and bowed politely at the two boys. “How do you do.”

Zazie stared at Zailia, and once she caught his eye, she gave him her sweetest smile, causing him to look away abruptly, making Lag and Zailia confused and Bree smirk deviously.

There was no way in a million years this was going to happen. Because she was going to tell Azalea everything.

“Are you doing some shopping, Bree?” Lag’s attempt at small talk snapped the girl from her scheming.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we’re running errands for the tavern, we’re about to get some flowers for Zailia’s winter blend. You should come by and try it out sometime. Oh! That reminds me, the Beehive’s Director came by the other day for tea. I really appreciate everything you’ve done Lag, you’re a super hero.” Bree grinned.

“I didn’t really do…anything…but I’ll definitely come by for tea, I’m sure it’ll be great!” He smiles at Zailia, who suddenly bows deeply.

“Um, Lag Seeing, was it not? Um, I just wanted to thank you very much for convincing my manager to allow me to continue my work at the tavern. Y-You may not think it much, b-but you really helped my sister and myself a lot. So, thank you.”

Lag stammered out an embarrassed reply, mostly consisting of him trying to get her to stop bowing. Bree chuckled at the shenanigans before spotting Zazie looking slightly wistfully at Zailia. Bree’s grin turned frightening as she clasped the boy on the shoulder tightly.

“Ow! Hey, what’s your problem—“ He stopped himself short when he saw the look on her face.

“Zazie. Don’t even fuckin’ think about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I even doing with this fic.


	5. Poitless Chatter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone loves Jiggy Pepper.

A few days later, Lag indeed did visit the Ivory Tree tavern to have an early preview of Zailia’s new winter blend. Though Bree and Zailia were the only two of the waitresses he actually talked to, it seemed that all of the staff in the tavern knew him quite well. Well enough to smile and call out to him by name when he entered the tavern, anyway. Even some of the tavern’s regulars gave him a nod in greeting sometimes.

Lag had just taken a seat at a table when Bree ran up. “Hey! What can I get you?”

“Uh…Zailia’s tea…” He was a little worried she had forgotten. Bree seemed like the type to forget things like that after all.

“Niche wants meat!” Niche cut in, enthusiastically.

“Right! With the flowers we got a while ago? Sure thing! And the usual for the pretty dingo. It’ll be done in a bit.” Bree smiled and then turned to hand in the order. Lag could hear her shout from where he sat.

He was just drifting off into random thoughts when he heard a chair be pulled up to his table, in between himself and Niche. Bree sat in the chair and rested her head in her hands, which were propped up on the table by her elbows.

“So! Any interesting deliveries lately? What’ve you been up to?”

“Uh, well, every delivery is interesting, I guess. I get to deliver the precious hearts inside letters.” Lag responded, feeling a little awkward.

“Heh, you’re really into your job.” Bree grinned, making Lag fidget uncomfortably, “Hey, it’s a compliment! That’s a really admirable trait. Not many people are able to look at things like you can. I think it’s cool.” Bree’s smile widened and, for some reason, Lag felt more nervous, even though she was reassuring him.

“Oh…thanks.”

“But anyway, come on! You Bees get to go out on adventures nearly every day and I’m just stuck here in the Ivory Tree, all day every day. Just tell me about your most recent one or something.” Bree urged, leaning forward on her arms.

“Okay…uh, I went to the abandoned lighthouse at Liquid Sand and I met the Express Bee, Jiggy Pepper.”

“D’you say Jiggy Pepper? Wow, you met him? Like, did you talk to him?” Bree’s eyes widened.

“Yeah! I got to ride on his Iron Horse too!” Lag got excited thinking about the older Bee and how cool their exchange was.

“Did someone say Jiggy Pepper?” Julie turned around from where she was cleaning.

“Jiggy’s here?” Azalea poked her head out of the kitchen. Even Zailia peeked out from where she was preparing the tea.

Bree laughed, “No, sorry to disappoint.” She turned back to Lag, “We’re all big fans of him here. Julie’s sweet on him and Azalea…well…”

“I’d like to be reeeeal sweet on him, if you know what I mean!” Azalea’s comment got her a dish cloth to the face. Lag looked on in confusion.

“Let’s just say Azalea’s real ‘physical’ in her advances.” Bree snickered. Lag’s cheeks tinged red as he finally got it.

“A while back we used to express deliver things to each other before we left for work that day, so it would turn up while we were on shift. We’d keep the guy a whole hour behind schedule just flirting with him.” Bree covered her mouth with her hand to hold in her giggles.

“Eventually the Hive stopped accepting our letters.” Azalea added with a smirk.

“That…doesn’t seem like a good thing to do.” Lag said. “People are waiting on their toes for these letters. I couldn’t let the people down by being late.”

Bree stared at Lag blankly for a moment before smiling again. “Yeah. You’re right. We were being pretty stupid. But you have to admit it was pretty funny. I don’t think Jiggy has a lot of experience when it comes to romance.”

Lag blinked. “You think so?” Zazie would be interested in this.

“Yeah, he seemed really awkward. And his riddle-speak was weirder than usual.”

“He’s a huge dork.” Azalea agreed, wandering over. “But tons of girls these days are into guys like that, so I think he’d have no problem getting a girlfriend. Especially with that Iron Horse of his. I’d take both of them for a ride!”

“Jiggy Pepper’s really cool and he’s really thoughtful. I think he understands a lot more than people think.” Lag nodded.

“Hmm…” Bree hummed, resting her chin on her hand. “So you’re fan too, Lag.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, Zazie looks up to him much more than I do.”

“Zazie, huh? Bring ‘im with you next time you come ‘round. He can join Jules in the fan club. I hear they give members matching t-shirts.”

“Eh? Really?!”

“No.”

Lag laughed, a little embarrassed, before looking around the Tavern. “Bree, are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? Won’t you get in trouble if you get caught by your manager?”

“Huh? That guy? Nah, he’s never around here. He’s usually at some other bar of some higher rank, drinking away everything we earn. He only comes here if he wants to throw things at us.” Bree sighed, sinking forward to lean into the table.

“My apologies for making you wait!” Zailia called as she approached the table with a tray, holding the forgotten order.

“Thank you…” Lag murmured, taking his tea and sipping it. “It’s great!”

Zailia flushed in embarrassment at the praise, whereas Bree beamed proudly. Niche had devoured her food in two seconds, half of it went to the white creature on her head.

“Whoa, Niche! If you eat too quickly, you won’t eat dinner!” Bree laughed, patting the Maka’s head.

“It’s okay! Niche won’t eat Sylvette’s pukey soup anyway!” Niche’s hair-blades stuck up. The sight made Zailia flinch, but Bree was oddly calm at the sight. Lag looked nervously at the two waitresses, worried what they would say at the discovery of Niche’s…unique ability. But he got nothing.

“Sylvette, huh…She lives with you and Lag, right Niche? What do you think of Sylvette?”

“Sylvette is 100 times stronger than Lag! Her pukey soup is super pukey!” Niche answered immediately, her eyes widening.

“Wow, a hundred times stronger than Lag, huh?” Bree shot a look at Lag with a small smirk, making the boy strangely self-conscious. She then turned back to Niche with a kind smile. “You seem to get along pretty well!”

“Pretty fell?” Niche repeated blankly.

“Bree! You have a customer!” Zailia suddenly called from elsewhere.

“Okay!” Bree responded, before turning back to Lag with her usual smile. “Gotta go. Don’t stay out too late, okay? You’ll make Sylvette worry. See you!” And she dashed off back to work.

Lag watched her as he sipped his tea, watching her go from table to table, always smiling and stopping to chat with every customer. This Tavern and its customers…it seemed like its own little community. Lag smiled and downed the rest of Zailia’s delicious tea.

“Let’s go home, Niche.”

\--xXx—

The next few days went like that. Lag would do his deliveries, and then stop in at the Ivory Tree before going home. Bree always asked him what he did that day, and shared the crazy stories from her past with her workmates. As time went on, Lag found himself laughing at the girls’ antics, rather than being confused and kind of concerned. Niche seemed to enjoy it there too, she always got food and Bree doted on her like a sister. He didn’t feel awkward when people called out greetings to him anymore, instead, he called back. He enjoyed the feeling of comradery that was with the people at this Tavern, and he was glad that he was considered a part of it. He hadn’t got around to asking any of his friends if they wanted to join him at the tavern, but Sylvette had been curious about why Lag was coming home later than before, and so, while she was cooking dinner, with Lag waiting happily at the table, she asked.

“Lag, is everything alright?”

The boy in question looked up from where he was stuffing his face with bread, knowing that was all he was going to eat that night. “Yeah, why?”

“I was worried they were giving you over time at work. You’ve been coming home later than usual, I was getting worried…” What Sylvette really wanted to know was whether or not Lag had found himself a girlfriend and was coming home late because he was spending time with her. She’d never admit it, but she couldn’t help but meddle with her housemate’s non-existent love life. She loved a good romance, but no one she knew was involved with anyone, and Empress knows she’d read every book on the matter that she could get her hands on.

“Oh! I’ve been with friends at a tavern nearby, on Yasoumichi. They’re really nice and they give us a lot of drinks for free. I’ve told them a bit about you and they want to meet you, actually!”

A tavern, huh. It doesn’t sound like a place girls would be likely to hang out….But hearing that they were asking about her made Sylvette feel a little more interested.

“I guess…I could...visit sometime soon.” She relented.

“Great! I’ll invite Zazie and Connor too. We can all go after we finish our deliveries tomorrow. It’ll be fun!” Lag smiled, and Sylvette found she couldn’t really argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me like three months to write this apparently.  
> Classic me.  
> Also why did I write Sylvette this way. She deserves better rip  
> Hope you enjoy.


	6. Adding to the Mix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in which everyone was supposed to become friends, but instead someone had to die and ruin it for all of us.

Bree was surprisingly overjoyed with the fact Lag invited his friends to hang out at the Ivory Tree. Lag found this a little confusing but he was glad that she didn’t seem to find him troublesome. He wondered how the tavern could stay in business considering how much the employees tended to…not actually work very much; 

Bree in particular. Lag wondered if the other girls were annoyed by the brunette’s flippant behaviour.

Either way, after he finished up his deliveries for the day, he quickly ran home to get Sylvette, and escort her to the tavern, telling Zazie and Connor that he’d meet them there.

Sylvette felt a bit nervous as Lag pushed her along the streets towards the Ivory Tree. She wringed her hands in her lap for a while before turning around to ask Lag over her shoulder, “What kind of people are these friends, Lag?”

“Hm? Oh, well…they’re a bit energetic, I guess.” He chuckled, thinking back to previous examples of the shenanigans that occurred in the tavern. “You might get a bit worn out, actually.” He warned.

Sylvette hummed a noncommittal response, before turning to look straight ahead, thinking about what they were like. She wondered if any of them were attractive, maybe she could invest in her own romance instead of someone else’s for a change!

“Are they cute?” She asked, Lag’s flinch could be heard through the startled choking sound he emitted.

“U-Uh…I mean—I don’t know? I guess?”

Sylvette sighed with a slight smile, figures he would say that. It was kind of a weird question, asking if your friends were attractive. But still, he did kind of say that they were attractive. One them might be her type! Sylvette tried to hide her little grin, but failed. Luckily, with Lag pushing her chair and Niche hopping on the rooftops, neither could see it either way.

With the tavern in sight, Lag and Sylvette could see Zazie and Connor, ambling out the front, chatting away. Lag raised a hand in a wave, and the two other boys returned it.

“Zazie, Connor! You made it.” Lag smiled.

“Yeah, well, you said that they’d serve us food, right?” Connor said. Lag chuckled and nodded.

Zazie sighed, “It’s been a while since I actually had a break, so I guess this’ll be good.”

With a grin at Zazie’s comment, Lag steered Sylvette’s chair into the tavern and called out to their hostesses. “Bree! We’re here!”

“Lag? Hey! I’ll be with you in a sec…” There was a pause as Bree moved an order from the kitchen to its respective table before she jogged over with a huge grin to her guests. “Welcome to the Ivory Tree! Make yourselves at home.”

Needless to say, Sylvette was surprised that one of the friends Lag was talking about was a girl, not to mention a girl close to her age. Sylvette looked around Bree, who was greeting Zazie and Connor, to look at the other people around the tavern. From what she could discern, all the staff were female, relatively close to her age, if not a few years older. That probably explained why Lag got so flustered when she asked him if these friends of his were attractive. But then again, it’s Lag. He’d get flustered at a butterfly.

“You’re Sylvette, right? I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m super glad to meet you.” Sylvette is pulled from her mental rambling to see Bree with her hand extended in front of her, a warm smile on her face. “I’m Bree.”

“Oh, yes. Sylvette Suede.” Sylvette returned the smile and shook her hand. “Lag’s been coming here a lot recently, so I was a bit interested to come visit.”

Bree’s grin only widened. “Yeah, I’ve been dying to meet you too! We really need a new girl around here. And I’m not the only one, I heard from Lag you’re a doll-maker?”

“Yes, I recently began selling them at Catan.”

“Yeah, I went to check them out after I heard. They’re really good. Zallie here…” She paused and looked around, “Zailia, come out here! You wanted to talk to her right?”

Zailia shuffled out until she stood a couple steps behind Bree. She bowed politely, “H-Hello, Miss Suede—“

“Which one of you is Zazie?” Zailia was cut off by her older sister’s remark. There were a few more words in the sentence Azalea spoke, but they were far too rude to even be considered. Bree started snickering.

Azalea appeared in front of Zailia, as if from nowhere, glaring down at each male with a gaze that could have liquefied bone. Lag looked fearfully to Bree, who was leaning against Sylvette’s chair, trying to stifle her giggles. The brunette waitress glanced from Azalea to meet Lag’s gaze in which she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively in response to. Lag briefly reconsidered his choice of being friends with the girl.

Zazie would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated by the older girl in front of him. However, his ego was deemed more important that his safety and he spoke up, as confidently as he could. “I’m Zazie.”

Azalea’s gaze snapped onto the raven-haired boy and her mouth stretched into a horrifying grin. She talked closer and rested her hands on his shoulders. Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered.

“Lay one hand on my little sister and I will take the dullest potato peeler we have out back and skin you with it.”

Luckily, Azalea’s unnecessarily descriptive threat was unheard by anyone other than the two involved in the conversation. However, the bemused expression on Bree’s face suggested she very well guess what the older girl was saying. Normally, Zazie wasn’t one to take such a threat, especially with his background, but the way   
Azalea’s voice dropped in pitch, the way her hands sat on his shoulders, not gripping him, but rather exerting pressure and the way her eyes seemed to stare straight into him, as if she already considered him nothing more than meat to be cut….all these things drilled the idea that this girl was not to be trifled with. Of course, the idea that Azalea had killed before was preposterous. However, Zazie couldn’t help but feel it in his back, the light brush of a shiver that told him he should be wary. 

Perhaps she was no harm in this life, but in a previous one… He couldn’t be sure.

Zazie swallowed thickly and nodded quickly. Azalea, satisfied that she had doomed the boy to a paranoid insomnia thanks to her words, petted his hair and turned back to the kitchen. Zailia, though she had no idea what wrath her sister had brought upon the teenager turned to him anyway and bowed deeply.

“I am terribly sorry for my elder sister’s actions. I assure you she means you no harm in any way.”

Zazie stared at Zailia blankly, then looked towards the kitchen before turning and seating himself at a table without a word.

There was silence for three seconds before Bree clapped loudly, succeeding in making everyone in the room flinch.

“So! Why don’t we all get a cup of tea and have a good ole heart to heart, hm?”

The unspoken alternative seemed much too awkward, so tea and a ‘heart to heart’ was very welcome.

The tea of the day peppermint and cranberry juice. When all cups had been served, the gang settled themselves around a few tables they pushed together and chatted away. Bree, along with Zailia and their other co-workers to stopped by to chat came and went as they were busied themselves in between conversations to server the other customers of the tavern. With time, the customers filed out and the tavern was left empty except for Lag and the others, but the waitresses didn’t stop working, they only had little bit of time before the night-time rush came, and so they were busy preparing.

Bree was cutting fruit, some for snacks and some for decorating the drinks, but cutting it in the kitchen was no fun, so she packed up all her utensils and brought them out to the tables, taking a seat, smiling at Sylvette as she began peeling an apple with a knife.

“So, Sylvette…you live with Lag and Niche, right?” Sylvette hummed a confirmation around her sip of tea. “Wow, that must be fun. I live by myself so the only fun I have is here at the tavern. Got any dumb stories about Lag? He’s dumb so he’s probably always doing dumb stuff.”

Lag gave Bree a glare over his teacup, to which she winked in response, leaving him very confused and slightly flustered.

Sylvette giggled. “Well, yes, there’s lots of little things….have you ever seen him draw? He’s always a mess when it comes to disciplining Niche too.”

Bree’s eyes widened. “Oh, my gosh, yes, I totally forgot! Niche must be such a handful. Does she still refuse to wear pants?”

“As long as they’re Lag’s its fine. But I had to wash them once, right? So I gave her a pair of what girls would normally wear and…”

Bree waved her knife. “Say no more. They came in here that day and we got about five complaints for indecent exposure. Not to mention she was covered in sand! Took me ages to clean it up.”

“What do you mean you cleaned it up? You sat there and laughed while the rest of us cleaned!” Azalea shouted from the kitchen.

“What do you mean ‘the rest of you’ cleaned? The only one who cleaned was Zal!” Bree retorted, throwing a dish towel towards the older girl. Unfortunately, dish towels don’t go very far and it floated to the ground a good few feet short.

“I…I do not really mind…” Zailia half-mumbled to no one in particular. But Bree and Azalea were too involved in their own argument to pay any notice.

Sylvette gave her an apologetic smile and patted her arm. “Don’t worry, I understand. I have to clean after two other people too.” Lag resented that statement.

“Oh, yeah! You don’t have carpets are your place do you? Because cleaning dirt and sand out those must be a bitch.” Bree laughed, completely ignoring the still fuming Azalea.

“Do not even get me started, Bree. Luckily we have wooden floors because she comes home with Lag every day…not that he’s in any better condition….” With every word Sylvette said, Lag felt himself become smaller and smaller. Niche, though she was the main topic of the others’ gossip, was too caught up in the freshly cut fruit that Bree was leaving unattended on the table.

“They’re gossiping like middle-aged wives.” Zazie muttered bitterly. It was the first thing he had said since Azalea’s little….warning.

“It’s what girls do.” Connor replied with a shrug, having decimated another loaf of bread. “They all talk like this. It’s better to just go with it.” Well, Lag wasn’t going to argue. He had no prior experience and suddenly he’s got multiple girls around him, all in less than a few months. He was a little overwhelmed.

“Alright, kids…” Julie wandered in from the kitchen, clapping her hands together to gain everyone’s attention. “As much fun as you’ve all been having, we’re about to go into evening rush-hour and I need all hands on deck, even as useless as those hands might be.” The red-head sent a pointed smirk to Bree who just shrugged.

“It’s fine. It’s getting kind of late anyway, and we all have deliveries tomorrow.” Zazie said as he stood, Connor soon following. All the boys present were kind of eager to evacuate, they were way too outnumbered by women to be comfortable.

“Will you guys be alright getting home?” Bree asked, worried for her friends but also sad to see their time together end.

“We’ll be fine. We have our dingoes, and I’ll be with Sylvette.” Lag assured with a smile.

“Yeah, if you kids weren’t Bees I’d send you home with an escort. Safety in numbers is best right now.” Azalea commented, picking up the forgotten dish towel Bree threw earlier as she walked into the dining area.

“What do you mean?” Sylvette asked, slightly nervous at the elder girl’s tone.

“Did you read the Central Times today?” Azalea’s lips quirked up into a bitter smile. “There’s been a murder. A girl not much older than you this time. It’s the second one this month.”

A chilling silence set upon the room. Zazie and Connor awkwardly excused themselves after a moment, promising that they would be careful. Lag gave the same regards before turning to help Sylvette out. Azalea’s words had made him cautious but not as cautious as something else in that tavern.

“How creepy…right, Lag?” Sylvette murmured as they walked home, trying to make light conversation. “Now that you’ve got my brother’s gun, I don’t have much means of a bluff…”

“You don’t have to worry, Sylvette. You have Niche and I.” Lag was quick to comfort her.

“I wonder if Bree knew something about the death…”

“What?”

“Her face when Azalea said that…I’ve never seen anyone so afraid. So…distraught. It made me nervous. She didn’t even say ‘bye’.”

“Yeah…” He saw it. The thing that made him more nervous that the news itself.

When Azalea announced the murder, Bree’s expression looked like she had been caught like a deer in headlights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just when you thought I didn't have a plot.  
> Clearly the best way to write is to wait until chapter six before it gets good.  
> Why do I do this to myself


	7. Fraying Edges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As if a local string of murders couldn't get any worse, one of your friends disappears claiming to have commitments to a family that might not exist.

Since the evening of Azalea’s declaration of the murders, an eerie blanket of tension settled over the town. Lag found that, following the next few days, the Central Times featured stories of the murders, as well as a third one which occurred four days after the second.

Lag didn’t share it with Sylvette, he didn’t want her to worry, and he felt nervous about leaving her home alone while he did deliveries. He talked to Aria about it and she seemed concerned as well, she promised Lag that she would check in on the girl from time to time. The Hive Director also issued a notice to all Bees, warning them to be careful and to apprehend any suspicious figures but only if safe to do so. It was their job as public servants to protect the citizens from threats, whether those threats were gaichuu or otherwise.

He had just finished another day of deliveries, and though had seen nothing suspicious, it filled him with more dread than if he had. The thought of knowing nothing…the thought of such a person being out there….it made him nauseous to think that he was in the same city as someone who could kill another.

He had hoped that the Ivory Tree and Bree’s usually vibrant attitude would be exempt from the gossip and foreboding that seemed to have claimed the rest of Central…but it wasn’t the case. In fact, it seemed like the tavern was the epicenter.

Julie had stopped working, trying to cover for their manager who was checking in even less frequently than before. He showed up once a week or so to pick up some money and then vanished again, leaving the eldest of the waitresses to try and cover the business’ finances. Which were apparently decreasing. They hadn’t meant for 

Lag to hear, but Azalea doesn’t seem to understand the concept of an ‘inside voice’. He had overheard Zailia’s quiet sobs in the kitchen as well. The youngest of the waitresses had every right to be scared, especially one as pure and as sweet at Zailia Hetran. Lag knew that the Azalea would protect her younger sibling at all costs but he couldn’t help but feel his heart reach out for the girl.

But the thing that made the whole situation unsettling was Bree. Since she had heard of the deaths she had become strangely antisocial. She smiled at Lag when he visited and still served him, but even Niche could see that her smile was strained. With the event of the third death she had become practically icy towards everyone and seemed to carry an unusual air of something Lag couldn’t quite place but it seemed to be…fear?

He asked her about it to which she smiled and assured him he was fine and has since made an effort to act aloof around him as she was before….but her workmates commented on it to him when he visited. Azalea was laying off the usual banter, Zailia had tried making her tea, but Bree refused it all.

Then one day, she didn’t show up for work at all. Lag immediately asked Zailia about it when she served him his daily tea and she told him that Bree declared she had ‘family issues’ and might not be back for a few days. Lag didn’t pry, if it was family then it must be important. Perhaps her parents were worried with the recent events but then Zailia said something further.

“But I am worried because Miss Bree doesn’t talk about her family…and when she does…well, she makes it know that she is not on good terms with them.” Zailia looked down and began to fiddle with the hem of her apron. “She has stated more than once that she even has no family at all.”

Zailia offered nothing more after that other than a flustered apology for talking so much out of turn and begging him not to tell anyone that she had said anything. As 

Lag went home for the night he considered checking in on Bree’s home, but quickly realized he had no idea where she lived. He figured he would ask the waitresses during his visit the next day.

But luckily, Bree had returned and was working. Her smile was still forced, but she seemed a bit more at ease as she joked with the elderly regulars.

Lag made no effort to hide his relief. “Bree! You’re back.” He didn’t bother sitting at a table and instead went straight to her side.

She seemed surprised by his statement. “I…left?”

“You weren’t here yesterday.”

Bree was taken aback by the fact that he noticed her presence missing. It was enough for Lag to see her recently icy demeanor crack as she let a small smile grace her features.

“Really? Um, I mean…yeah, I had some…stuff…to take care of.” The icy bravado was back in place.

“Family stuff?”

Bree’s eyes flickered towards the kitchen at Lag’s mention of her family. “Yeah...just had to….yeah…family stuff.” Her words began to mumble towards the end and she looked to the ground, trying to sneak away from Lag and busy herself with something else. He could definitely tell that something was wrong.

“Bree…” The girl froze at the sound of her name. “Are you alright?” She turned at the question and he could see her internal debate through her eyes.

She sighed. “I just…we’ve only got so much time, you know?” She tried really hard to phrase it so it wouldn’t sound depressing but it really didn’t work. Worried she was just going to make it worse, she quickly gave a flustered excuse and left for the kitchen. Azalea, who had seen Bree’s hurried retreat only offered Lag a shrug when he looked to her for answers. 

“If there’s something up, she’ll say so. And if she won’t tell us, she’ll tell you. She likes you, Lag.” Azalea had once said. “I mean, she’s a happy kid usually but when you showed up…sometimes I swear she looks at you like you’re the sun.”

Lag hadn’t known what to say to that and he still didn’t but if what Azalea had said been true, why was Bree avoiding him? Did she really know something about the murders? Sylvette had only said it previously as a passing comment but with everything going on he couldn’t see any other explanation.

Bree left work again after the fourth death. The last time Lag saw her being the day Rupert Geodes, the manager, stopped in. She didn’t make a single snarky remark, not even when he shoved Zailia aside which Azalea didn’t stand for and normally Bree wouldn’t either. But she was clearly preoccupied with something big and Lag was determined to find out what.

So when the Director announced they had found the murder weapon and it was in custody now being tested by Thunderland Jr, Lag hoped that this would be the news to put Bree’s mind at ease. He hurried through his deliveries, eager to return to the comforting and jovial atmosphere that the Ivory Tree once provided. Lag knew that bringing back Bree’s smile was the key.

Lag stopped by the tavern after work, something he had been doing less frequently, so he wouldn’t leave Sylvette alone to her worries. He entered with a smile, his expression brightened by the news he carried with him and he became even more jovial upon the sighting of Bree waiting tables. He waited patiently for her to finish serving her customers and instead casually observed her. 

…In a concerned-friend-way of course.

Her demeanor seemed less hostile today but her smile was tired and she was slightly hunched and sluggish over as she moved. The brunette handed the order over to 

Azalea and leant against the counter with a sigh. Lag moved forward.

“Bree.” He called, trying to appear as annoyingly optimistic as he apparently was, according to Zazie.

Bree made only a small effort to hide her tiredness as she returned his smile. “Lag. Hey. You seem…awfully chipper.” She wanted to say that he was cheerful despite the current happenings of Central but felt that bringing it up would only ruin it.

“The Director made an announcement today.”

“Oh? Are you getting time off or something?” Bree quirked a brow, seeming to gain some more life in her as she became curious of Lag’s news.

“No, of course not. Even with everything that’s happening, no, especially with what has happened, it’s our job as Bees to bring the people some security.”

Bree chuckled. “You really love your job, huh?”

Her comment threw Lag off his train of thought. He blinked at her, confused by her statement and the sudden fondness that appeared in her expression out of nowhere. “Um, I mean, yeah…I guess. It’s an important job.”

Bree shook her head with a small grin. “I’m not saying it isn’t. Alright, tell me about the Director’s announcement.”

Oh yeah, that’s what he was talking about. Lag lowered his voice, as to not worry any customers that could overhear the conversation. “It’s about the murders. They found a murder weapon.”

Initially Bree seemed disinterested when he mentioned it was relating to the murders, as if nothing he could say would be surprising to her. It seemed he proved her thoughts wrong, however, as the words ‘murder weapon’ had her eyes wider than a table.

“They found a murder weapon?” She repeated, her voice barely over a whisper.

Lag nodded. “Yeah. Dr Thunderland Jr is testing it now for anything that could lead to who did this.”

Bree swallowed thickly. “How long do you think it will be until he’s finished?”

Honestly, Lag had no idea. He wasn’t a scientist nor did he know any sort of procedure regarding such matters. He read a crime novel that Sylvette recommended once, but other than that, forensics was lost on him. However, based on the general business of the Hive and was he did manage to retain from that one novel… 

“Maybe…a couple of days? Or a week?”

“A week.” Bree murmured to herself, not breaking her blank eye-contact with Lag. “A week. Okay.” She blinked a couple times to bring herself back to reality and placed a hand on Lag’s shoulder, smiling the most genuine smile he had seen from the girl in a while. “Thank you, Lag.”

Lag couldn’t help but smile back. It seemed he made the right choice telling Bree.

Surely things could only get better now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I love this. Writing this is so much fun.  
> I can't wait to share it with you all!!  
> I so hope you enjoy it!!!


	8. Resolute Infraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lag is offered a job; use his unique ability to look into the memories of a murder weapon in order to find who used it.

It seems that Lag’s relief that he felt once he told Bree of the murder weapon’s discovery was short lived, as he arrived to the Ivory Tree the following morning, checking in on his way to work for the day, as he usually did. However, upon his entry, he did not see the brunette girl and after asking Zailia, he discovered that she had skipped again, this time not even bothering with leaving a reason like her previous claim of ‘family issues’.

But luckily, his worry for the girl was also short lived, as he found her sitting on the edge of the fountain outside the Hive, staring towards the church-like structure with a blank expression, seemingly deep in thought. Niche ran ahead and stood at the girl’s side, trying to get her attention by waving a glove-clad hand in front of her face. When Bree remained unfazed, Niche turned back to look at her slowly approaching master for answers. Lag just shrugged and bent forward to get a better look at her expression. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

“…Bree?” The girl flinched and let out a nervous laugh. “Are you alright?”

“Jeez, Lag! You scared me half to death! Yeah, I’m fine. I was out running some errands for the tavern and I passed by and I guess I got carried away in my own head…” she sighed. “I was thinking that it’d be nice if Thunderland finished up with the murder weapon soon.”

Lag suspected that Bree was lying about the ‘errands’ she was supposedly in the middle of, considering that Zailia had said she had yet to appear at the tavern that day. However, he stayed silent, unsure if his voicing of his suspicions would do more harm than good.

Bree stood, “Are you going in, Lag? I’ll walk with you, since I’m already here. Sometimes they renovate it, so it’ll be good to see if anything’s changed.” She started to get that thoughtful, far-off look in her eye that made Lag nervous. Also, since when had the Hive been renovated? He hadn’t been in Central for ages by any means but the Hive looks identical to what he saw in Gauche’s memories….and that was five years ago! But…Bree was smiling and she still had that tired look in her eyes, so he thought perhaps it would be best to leave it for now. Though he felt uneasy, he thought it was best to humour the girl, hoping that she was just a little stressed from the recent events.

Lag kept a close eye on Bree as she wandered through the main hall that served as the Hive’s lobby. She seemed to have a sort of…fond expression, as if this was a place she had been many times before, but in another life.

“I really like the lighting here. It matches the architecture so well. It feels warm.” She said offhandedly with a light sigh as a small smile slid onto her features. Lag stared at Bree, processing her comment, before looking towards the ceiling and then doing a quick scan of the Hive’s interior.

He never really gave it much thought other than the day he arrived with Connor for his interview. Of course, on that day, the Hive looked extraordinary. It was his goal, his dream, after all. But since then, it’s kind of slipped his mind. He had other priorities, and he wasn’t too big on architecture anyway. He didn’t really peg Bree as the type to be into structures either but she never failed to surprise him before so why would she stop now? It kind of relieved him to see more of the personality he knew to show rather than her recent demeanour.

But to think of the Hive as warm…Lag supposed it could be described like that. It was a place of gathering for all types of people. Each other those people has their own stories, their own memories, which they were sending out to those they loved in the form of letters. Lag smiled. Thinking of the Hive as the place from which hearts were sent…It made sense to think of it as a warm place.

He turned his smile to Bree. “You’re right. It is warm.”

Bree smiled wide in return. “Go on and do your job then. To keep this as a warm place full of heart.” She reached out and nudged his shoulder and he laughed in return. He did have to check in with the Hive Master, and then pick up his letters for delivery.

Lag nodded. “You should go work too. To keep the tavern a warm place.”

His reply surprised Bree. Her smile was replaced by the tiniest of frowns. “You…think the tavern is a warm place?” Before Lag could even stress about whether or not what he said was weird, Niche spoke up, tired of being ignored by the two.

“Yes, it’s a warm place because there’s many warm foods that Niche doesn’t eat.” The Maka girl said matter-of-factly, glaring at nothing in particular. “If Niche ate them the warmness would be gone.”

Bree grinned at Niche. “Then the warmth would be Niche, right?”

“Yes!”

Bree chuckled in response. “Alright. I’ll head back to the Ivory Tree to keep it a warm place.” She then turned to look at Lag with that fond expression again. “I’m glad…you think it’s warm.” Lag just nodded dumbly and watched blankly as Bree waved before turning back the way they came.

Before Lag could watch her leave the Hive, Niche nudged him impatiently and he quickly hurried up the stairs to Largo Lloyd’s office. His mind was reeling and he could feel his heart beating. Bree was always so…odd. Not in an unpleasant way, but in a way that Lag never knew what to expect. He enjoyed her company. She was…  
well, he didn’t know what she was. Was there even a word to aptly describe her? How could the Ivory Tree not be a place of warmth when it was where Bree was?

Unfortunately, Lag’s sensibility didn’t return to him as he reached to door to the Director’s office, pulling on it when he knew very well he had to push to enter. Niche gave him a look to which he retaliated more defensively than he should have to a seven-year-old girl. He quickly shook his head, hoping that it would straighten out his jumbled mind and declared his presence a bit more enthusiastically than was probably necessary.

Largo Lloyd, Director of the BeeHive smiled at Lag’s entrance, but the smile was strained. Aria, standing at the Director’s left side, was even more stoic than usual. Lag quickly removed his cap and stepped forward.

“You asked to see me, Director?” He asked tentatively, looking to Aria and then back to the Director, looking for any cracks in their odd stature.

“We have a proposition for you, Lag.” Lloyd said, with that same somewhat forced smile.

Aria quickly interjected before Lag could ask what it was. “You don’t have to accept if you don’t want to.” The gravity Lag felt from the two adults was enough for him to almost outright reject whatever they were going to propose before they even told him what it was. Lag didn’t want to complain, but he was relatively certain that there was enough drama around Central as it was.

He chose to stay silent, looking between his two superiors. Lloyd took that as his cue to continue.

“We think it will benefit to search for the murderer.” Lloyd was blunt and all of Lag’s thoughts of rejecting the offer vanished. He wanted this ordeal to be over. He would do whatever it took to make Central safe again.

“What can I do?” He asked immediately.

Aria sighed, knowing that Lag would always be willing to help despite the dangers. “We know of your…unique ability to see the heart within objects. We thought that perhaps if Dr Thunderland Jr’s tests on the evidence we found doesn’t show anything…”

“That perhaps we could utilize your ability.” The Director finished for Aria, his smile back in place and less forced than earlier.

Lag blinked, it didn’t seem like too taxing of a task. It made him a little tired but he’s gotten better at handling shindans during his time as a Bee. His confusion must have appeared on his face because Aria stepped forward, offering an explanation.

“Of course, firing too many a shindan can be tiring but also…this is a murder weapon, Lag. I think that what we might uncover might be…” She paused, “Unsettling, to say the least.”

“Someone of your age doesn’t need to be burdened by such things.” Lloyd continued, “Not even adults like us want to be involved in this, but for the safety of the people we must. You, however, have a choice. We still have the chance that Dr Thunderland’s tests will be successful. But we thought we might propose the option, just in case. We’d like for this to end as quickly as possible. Surely, you feel the same way, young man?”

Of course, Lloyd knew the answer. Someone as pure and as kindhearted as Lag Seeing could only want the happiness and safety of the people around him. There was no doubt that he would agree to help, despite the possibility of being traumatized by the memories of the objects he would be firing his shindan into. There was a very high possibility that the memories within the object would hold the moments of the murders themselves. No one should have to witness the death of another, especially one as brutal as the current murders.

“I’ll do it.” Lag’s agreement was no surprise. Both Aria and Lloyd sighed, they knew, but they had hoped, for the sake of Lag’s innocence.

Lloyd nodded. “How about you come back after your deliveries then? We’ll figure out a plan.” The forced smile was back.

Lag nodded and bowed respectfully before turning and excusing himself from the room. The weight of the proposition hasn’t set in yet, nor had he fully understood what exactly they were asking him to do, but he had all of his deliveries to make before he was required to do anything, so he figured that would give him apt time to think.

Lag was only brought out of his thoughts as he noticed that Niche’s rhythmic hopping behind him had fallen silent and had remained that way for a few moments. He turned back to see her staring at an open doorway.

“Niche? What’s wrong?”

“Lag. There’s a funny smell.” She said, her voice monotone.

“A funny smell?”

As he was about to question his dingo further, a man he recognized as one of Dr Thunderland’s lab assistants ran past, bumping Lag aside in his hurry without even an apology. Lag frowned but didn’t think too much of it until two others frantically followed, this time, Lag saw them coming and the anxiousness etched on their features.

Something was wrong.

Lag shouldn’t pry, but he really couldn’t help himself. With a look to Niche whose blank expression translated as encouragement, Lag took off after the lab assistants, to find himself back at the Director’s office, the door left open in their haste. Lag peeked through the crack in the doorway, Niche’s head under his chin so she too could watch.

“Sir, there’s been an incident.”

The Director frowned, “What sort of incident? Was someone hurt?”

“No, sir, there’s…been a theft.”

“A theft? Of what—“

“The suspected murder weapon has been stolen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t tell you how much it means to me that I’m writing this. So much planning has gone into this fic to build up to this moment and I am so excited to share it with you. I really hope you’re enjoying so far and that you’ll enjoy the next chapter. I wrote more than I was expecting so the next chapter will either be a long one or broken into two. I’ll see how it goes.  
> Please look forward to it!  
> Also, it would really mean a lot if you left a review to let me know what you think of the story thus far. I really want this to be something that is enjoyable to read so your feedback is greatly appreciated.


	9. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing can make your day worse than getting hit by a carriage.

Lag felt sick. The murder weapon was stolen. By who? The murderer probably. But how did they get in? Force? Was anyone hurt? Lag’s worries were echoed by the Director, who demanded to know the situation, how it occurred and whether or not everyone was safe.

The Lab assistants replied that no one seemed to be hurt, but the laboratory was clearly and thoroughly searched. Documents were damaged but the perpetrator had left all equipment and medical supplies untouched. They had come for a purpose and achieving it was their only goal, they appeared to have no interest in causing any damage to the lab itself. The only things missing were the weapon and the test materials and information relating to it.

“All of our work so far is gone. Dr Thunderland is currently trying to recreate it now, so he apologizes that he was unable to report this himself.” One of the assistants says. The Director dismisses it with a wave of his hand.

“He obviously has more pressing matters right now, a report can wait. Though I am glad to be made aware of this situation. Thank you.” The office was silent save for the Director’s fingers drumming against the wood of his desk as he thought. “We’ll have to release the details of the weapon. We should call an artist to make a picture of the blade to be released to the public, so we can try to retrieve if someone sees it, though it would be bad to cause any more uproar amongst civilians…”

A blade. The weapon was a blade? Lag swallowed. The rest of the conversation within the office blurred out, and he stumbled back a few paces before turning and heading to collect his letters for delivery. That’s right, he was a Letter Bee. He had to deliver the precious hearts of the people. That was what he had to think about now. The blade can wait. Niche kept glancing to Lag in concern. She hadn’t understood the conversation going on in the Director’s room, but she knew the word ‘blade’ she had heard many times when referring to her hair. And she was definitely aware that her hair could cause harm. As far as she knew, someone had taken something that could cause harm. Niche bristled, and Steak, resting upon her head, looked down at her nervously. Niche knew it instinctively, Lag had to be protected.

Lag collected his letters for delivery without word, but his expression must have spoken for him, as other employees he bumped into throughout the Hive asked him if he was alright, or at the very least, glanced at him with concern.

Lag had to bury what he knew. He would think about it later. He couldn’t worry about it now, he had a job to do. However, a thought came to him that yanked his buried concerns to the front on his mind. Sylvette.

The murderer was still at large and now they had their weapon back. Sylvette would be alone at home. Lag felt his stomach turn, he wanted to throw up at the very thought of Sylvette possibly being…

No, he wouldn’t allow it. He turned sharply to Niche, who blinked up at him in surprise.

“Niche, go home to Sylvette.”

The dingo’s expression of surprise immediately turned to one of immense displeasure.

“No! Niche is Lag’s—“

“Niche, please.” Lag practically begged the girl. He would be fine, he had his gun, he wouldn’t be in Central, and he had functioning legs. “Go home to Sylvette. She’s in danger.”

Niche really didn’t like the idea of leaving Lag, especially on a day like today, when she had a bad feeling in her gut and there was bad things happening at the Hive. 

But she had never seen her master this panicked. He seemed almost desperate, his tone of voice made Niche worried for Sylvette’s safety herself, even though she knew that the older girl was much stronger than Lag.

Lag continued to beg, pleading that he would be fine, trying to get her to understand why she had to go. He sputtered and stammered, trying to form his thoughts into words that a seven-year-old could understand but…it just made him seem like a panicked mess. Lag took a deep breath and asked once more.

“Niche, please go home and stay with Sylvette. She might…she could get hurt.”

Niche sighed herself, possessing more sass in that action than Lag thought possible for her, or any child, to have.

“Niche will go to Sylvette. But Niche is Lag’s dingo! Niche will protect Lag!” she snapped.

Lag smiled in relief and patted her head. “Thank you, Niche. You’re the best dingo I could have.”

Niche swelled with pride, a blush colouring her cheeks and she turned and hopped to the rooftops above without another word.

Lag took another deep breath to calm himself and continued his way down the dark streets towards his first delivery, out of Central. His outburst had unfortunately released the rest of his concerns and thoughts regarding the theft of the murder weapon, and he was consumed with nervous energy. He started to doubt sending 

Niche away for a moment out of fear of his own safety, but quickly chased that thought away. Sylvette needed Niche more than he did.

Now that he had this information about the now-missing murder weapon, what should he do with it? He quickly decided that sharing it wouldn’t be a good idea at all. 

It would cause more harm than good. Lag didn’t like lying, but this was a special case. It was better if it wasn’t known. He didn’t want anyone to worry.

Ah, but the details are going to be released anyway. Well, maybe. Lag didn’t like the thought of people panicking but…he really wanted someone to talk to about this. 

The thoughts rotating in his head made him feel sick. He could go to Aria or the director but…he didn’t know how they’d react to him eavesdropping. With these thoughts, a part of him wanted the information to be released despite the risks. Lag quickly shook his head, he shouldn’t be selfish at such a time! But it really would make him feel better to talk to someone…at this rate he feared his own concerns would consume him.

Lag continued on his way, hoping his feet weren’t making him go in circle like his mind was. He thoughtlessly headed along the main street, if he continued this way, he’d be out of Central eventually. The people around him bustled, going on with their lives. Lag bumped into more people than he’d like to admit and mumbled an apology as he moved on. He stuck close to the centre of the road, hoping that being in the middle, rather than close to the stores that lined the edge of the street, he would be out of peoples’ way.

He didn’t account for the fact that he would be in the way of any carriages.

The tell-tale sign of approaching traffic and the concerns calls of passing townsfolk were swallowed by each other, the sounds blurring and combining to form a intelligible mess of noise. He didn’t look up until he heard the unexpected call of his name.

He saw brown. The brown coat of the horses rearing in front of him, the brown wood of the carriage which jerked to a halt, the brown curls of a girl shoving him out of the way and finally the brown specks of dirt that dotted the pathway that ended up beneath him.

There was a feminine scream from a shopper and sounds of agitation from the horses who were being furiously calmed in between curses by their driver.

Lag blearily stared ahead, watching the feet around him move towards the carriage, his mind trying to catch up with the sudden change in action. He sat up and he also turned, seeing a slowly forming crowd of concerned people. He thought someone stopped and helped him up, asking him if he was okay, another asked him what the hell he was doing in the middle of the road. He mumbled a noncommittal response as his feet moved him to the centre of the crowd. His stomach dropped to his toes, pushed down by a massive weight of guilt.

Of course the curls he saw as he was pushed away from the oncoming carriage seemed familiar. But somewhere in his whirling thoughts he prayed to the Empress it wasn’t her. Not once in his time of knowing the brunette had he even humoured the thought of her ever getting hurt. It didn’t seem logical, she was such a strong and vibrant person, how could she ever be injured, let alone be at the risk of death.

Lag harshly dropped to his knees at her sides, his hands hovering over her shivering form, scared to do even more damage than he had already done. “Bree…?” His voice was but a stammered whisper.

Bree groaned, the sounds muffled by the ground. She lay half on her side and half on her stomach, as if she was shielding something.

“My arm...” she croaked. “It hurts…”

The guilt on Lag’s shoulders chipped away at the sound of her voice. She was alive and conscious, which was definitely a place to start. She said her arm hurt but she could be treated right?

“W-We’ll get you to Dr Thunderland, Bree, okay? Hang in there!” He reached forward to grab her by her good arm, hoping at least survey the damage before he helped her back to the Hive.

“No!” Lag recoiled as Bree shrieked in panic. He had never heard such a sound from the girl. She had been worried, concerned, and even anxious but never had she ever expressed such a fearful panic. Her usual demeanour was gone. Her body was shaking so much it bordered on spasms. “There’s…There’s too many people…get them away…get them away from me…”

“Bree?” Lag’s voice softened to a whisper. Despite the bustle around them, Bree managed to hear him somehow, her eyes widening slightly as the panic faded. She turned her head to look at him and her face melted into an expression of such fondness that Lag’s mind went blank.

“Lag…are you safe?” She asked quietly. Lag wasn’t even sure if either of them were blinking in that moment.

“Um…yes.”

She smiled. “I’m glad. Do you have deliveries?”

Oh. Right.

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter! You’re—“

“Doesn’t matter? That doesn’t sound like you, Lag.” She joked weakly. “Don’t worry, the townsfolk will take care of me. I’ll go see a doctor and you can come see me at the Ivory Tree when you get back, okay?”

Lag stammered a response. “Are you sure? I mean…just now…” Just now she seemed panicked at the thought of strangers being around her but now she trusts her well-being with them? And that’s totally beside the fact she just got hit by a carriage.

“I’ll be fine…my arm hurts but if I hold it like this it doesn’t hurt as much. As long as no one touched it.” She rolled a bit and Lag saw the arm in question which he hoped wasn’t bent like he thought it was.

Lag didn’t want to leave. Bree was injured, seriously injured, he couldn’t just go and carry on with his day like nothing happened! Bree seemed to have read his mind as she spoke up. “Lag, please, I…I don’t want you to see…” her words choked off and she coughed before continuing. “People are waiting for those letters, Lag. I can take care of myself, okay? I’d feel bad if I kept you from your work.”

Lag stayed silent as her thought about her words and watched quietly as someone sat her up and placed a jacket around her shoulders, to which she winced as she jostled her arm. She spoke quietly to those helping her, explaining how her arm felt and as a man helped her stand, she looked to Lag again. “Lag? Are you okay?”

He met her eyes with determination. “I’ll be going now.”

She smiled. “Stay safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be two more chapters after this one. It was originally supposed to be one chapter but it ended up long as fuck so there we go.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Rinnovare (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bree's injured and everyone tries to convince Lag he's not a shitty friend.

Lag’s customer service on his deliveries that day were admittedly not his best. Of course, he wasn’t rude, but he was definitely rushed, hurrying through formalities and being brisk with any communication. He knew that delivering letters was important but Bree…Bree was hurt and he left her. She told him to but…he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She was okay…right? He prayed to the Empress that she would be able to heal. Surely, if she was going to see Dr Thunderland Jr she would be alright. He was kind of weird but he was a good doctor, despite all rumours.

By the time he had completed his last delivery, it was already late. It seemed that in his previous mission to forget the news of the missing murder weapon he had taken on as many deliveries as he could. He regretted it now. Either way, when he had made it back to Central, it was surely too late for him to see Bree, so he headed home feeling burdened and worn out.

He opened the front door to his shared home with Sylvette and before he could even give his tired announcement of his arrival, he was drowned out by Niche’s exclamations as she ploughed into him, much to Steak’s distress.

“Lag! Niche protected Sylvette as Lag’s dingo because as Lag’s dingo, Lag told Niche to!”

Lag smiled at her and petted her hair. “Yeah. Thanks, Niche. You did well.”

Niche’s cheeks coloured red and she glued herself to her usual spot at Lag’s side. Lag smiled fondly at the girl before looking ahead to see Sylvette sitting quietly in her chair, an expression of concern on her face.

“Lag…are you alright?” She asked softly. “Niche said I might be in danger and that you sent her back…I don’t understand. Why did you ask her to come home?”

Lag sighed and tiredly pulled his hat off his head, wincing as he tugged on some of his silver hair. “I…I was just worried, I guess.”

“Worried about what? Did something happen? Please, tell me, Lag, you’re making me worried!” Sylvette pleaded, rolling after Lag as he made his way to the dining table, unwinding his scarf from his neck as he walked.

The two stayed silent as Lag took off his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair before sitting, staring at the wooden surface of the table before him. “Bree got hit by a carriage today.”

He heard Sylvette suck in a breath. “Bree? From the tavern Bree? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “It happened just as I was leaving Central. She…she pushed me out of the way. She saved me.”

Sylvette’s hands fluttered to her face as she processed the information. She took a deep breath. “Oh, Lag…Bree’s a strong girl, I’m sure she will be just fine. It’s late now, but I’m sure she went to see Dr Thunderland…I bet she’ll be waiting for you bright an early at the tavern tomorrow.” Sylvette smiled at him, hoping to give any kind of comfort she could. The world just didn’t feel right to her if Lag wasn’t cheerful.

“Yeah…I know that, but…I left her there to do my deliveries…”

“Knowing Bree I’m sure she scolded you for staying as long as you did.”

Lag’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “She did.”

“Please, don’t blame yourself, Lag. It wasn’t your fault. I’ll come with you to go see her tomorrow, if you’d like. I’m sure seeing you safe and well would be enough to make her feel better.”

Lag gave Sylvette a small smile. “Yeah. Thanks, Sylvette. I’m kind of tired so I’ll go to bed now.” He stood, the wood of the chair scraping against the floor boards noisily in the otherwise quiet apartment. He traipsed up the stairs to his room, Niche following quietly behind.

“Goodnight, Lag.” Sylvette replied softly.

~xXx~

The next morning, Lag and Sylvette headed out together in the early morning, heading for Ivory Tree Tavern to learn of any information regarding Bree’s condition.

Lag held the door open as he helped Sylvette into the tavern, calling his greetings into the tavern and smiling politely at Zailia, who bowed politely at them between taking orders.

“If it isn’t Lag! And Sylvette? You don’t usually come in this early.” It was Azalea who greeted them, sashaying over to them with her usual exuberance. She smiled at the two, resting her hands on her hips as she regarded them with amusement.

Sylvette often told Lag of the antics at the tavern over dinner, as she had become a frequent visitor after her first time at the tavern. She enjoyed the company of the other girls and would even sew with Zailia during the other girl’s breaks.

“We came to ask if you heard anything about Bree.” Sylvette replied with a smile, her hands folded politely in her lap.

“Bree? Mm, taking some time off to recover, but otherwise fine is what I understood. She came in yesterday evening to update us but we sent her home pretty quickly. 

We appreciate the notice since we’re short-staffed but she really shouldn’t have been wondering around in her condition.”

“What is…her condition?” Lag asked nervously. “Is her arm okay?”

Azalea’s expression went blank and her hands slipped from her waist and hung loosely at her side. The idle chatter of the tavern’s patrons was quiet, but Lag felt like there was a swarm of Lao Lao buzzing inside his ears from the nervousness coursing through him.

“Her arm? Her arm’s gone.”

What Lag once considered a single swarm of Lao Lao in his head turned into twenty furious swarms as his pounding heartbeat joined the mix.

“G…Gone?” He choked.

“Yes. Gone.” Azalea said, a hint of irritation in her voice. “Said it got crushed by the horse hooves or something and the nerve damage was so bad that they were better off removing it than having it there as dead weight.”

“Azalea.” Zailia’s voice cut her older sister off, the small girl’s tone unusually sharp for her personality.

“What? It was her choice.” Azalea muttered but otherwise resigned from the conversation. She overtook her younger sister’s place in serving tables as Zailia approached Lag and Sylvette.

“I am sorry about my sister’s rudeness. Please do not feel burdened. Miss Bree was quite content in her condition once she had learned of your safety.” Zailia said, smiling apologetically at Lag. “It is early at the current hour, so she may be resting, but please do pay a visit to her home later today, I have the address from our employee records. Miss Julie said I should not give it to you without consulting Miss Bree first but I really am worried. She looked quite sick.” The petite girl held out a small piece of paper, which Lag took and stuffed into the pocket of his jacket.

“It might be better to go later, Lag.” Sylvette agreed. “She’d probably resting now. If what Azalea said is true, she’d be pretty worn out from the procedure.” She suddenly clapped her hands as an idea stuck her. “I’ll make her some soup! She probably won’t be able to make dinner herself in her condition, right? She’ll definitely heal right up after eating it!” Lag doubted that but he didn’t want to rain on her parade, so he kept quiet.

Zailia however, as she had never tried the awful soup, was quite enthusiastic about the idea. “Oh, yes! How lovely! I am sure Miss Bree would be very appreciative of your kindly efforts!” Zailia’s eyes seemed to sparkle with respect for Sylvette.

“Lag! Go and do your deliveries and we’ll visit her when you get back, okay?” Sylvette smiled at Lag. “I’ll go home now and start cooking. I gotta put extra healing effort into this batch!” She threw her fist into the air, gave a grin to Zailia before rolling herself out of the tavern, calling her goodbyes over her shoulder. Lag watched her leave, before turning back to Zailia as she spoke once more.

“I…am not sure if it is my place to say so but…I think Miss Bree would be very glad to see you.”

“Why?”

Zailia began to fidget, not feeling entirely comfortable with the fact that she was saying what she was. She felt like she was spreading rumours behind her friend’s back.

“She talked about you lot. Even before you started showing up on the daily.” Azalea spoke for her sister, ‘cleaning’ the same spot repeatedly on a table in convenient eavesdropping distance. “If you were even a few minutes late she would mope around and annoy the hell out of us, but she started showing up to her shifts on time so she would be sure she didn’t miss you if you stopped by.”

“Even when Jiggy stopped by the first thing she did was ask about Lag.” Julie chipped in from the kitchen with a snigger.

“And suddenly she gives a shit about the postal system. Which is dumb.” Azalea paused. “No offence.”

“I suppose what we are trying to express as friends of Miss Bree is that you really shouldn’t feel burdened by what happened with the incident.”

“She would not have a preferred outcome to such a situation.” Zailia smiled.

Lag didn’t know what to say. Of course he valued Bree as a dear friend, but he didn’t know she valued him as much as she did. Or why, for that matter.

He bowed politely to Zailia and her sister, who both gave their own farewells, as well as Julie who waved, successfully spraying herself with soapy water, before exiting himself.

He walked slowly to the Hive, lost in his own thoughts, something that was occurring more often recently. He only stopped once he remembered the small sliver of paper in his pocket that Zailia had given him earlier.

He took it out and stared at the address written neatly on its surface. He knew where it was vaguely. It was nearby. Like conveniently nearby. He could probably head there and then to the Hive and still make it on time to work. You know, give Bree a heads up on the fact that they were coming over later. Yeah. That was totally what he was doing.

“Sorry, Niche. We need to go somewhere first.”

Lag turned and headed east.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> onemoreonemoreonemoreonemoreonemoreonemoreonemoreonemore  
> im so excited


	11. Rinnovare (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes doors shouldn't be opened.

Bree’s apartment complex wasn’t anything to write home about. Lag mused that he would probably have ended up in a similar type building had he not been offered to stay with Sylvette. Since Central was the main city of Yuusari, housing was pretty expensive, too expensive for him at least, but he guesstimated that the price of this particular complex wasn’t too far from his budget, based on its upkeep. Wooden structure, worn and dampened from rain. It was four stories, two windows on each floor. The sign that hung above the front door was faded and creaked eerily as it swung in the light morning breeze. Bree’s bright personality didn’t suit a dreary place such as this.

He walked in the front door, into a smoky room lit only by two candles. There was a counter to the right of the entrance, the woman behind it eyeing Lag suspiciously the moment he stepped inside. Behind her was a shelf, where each rooms’ key rested in order as well as a small chest for storing money and a thick book used for finances. There was a small table at the far wall with two chairs, once of the chairs occupied by a thin man whose eyebrows seemed to swallow his eyes. He glanced in   
Lag’s direction but otherwise paid him no mind.

“Letters go in the box over there.” The woman spoke, nodding towards a haggard metal mailbox across the room standing by the stairs that led up to the other floors.

“Oh! Um, I’m not here to deliver anything.” Lag said, bowing politely. “I’m here to see Bree Alexanders? I’m a friend…” his voice trailed off as the woman leant against the counter top, scrutinizing him.

“Brielle? Room 302. You need a key?”

Lag was taken aback. “Oh…no. Thank you.” He bowed once more and headed for the stairs. What kind of establishment offered keys to occupied rooms to strangers?   
What kind of business was going on here? Lag quickly decided he’d rather not think about it, but he did worry for Bree’s safety.

The stairs groaned as he and Niche climbed, the dingo girl muttering about the smell of mould that surrounded them. As Lag saw the faint light of the third floor, he heard a snap beneath his foot and quickly jerked back, tightly grasping onto the handrail to steady himself. He looked down, barely able to make out the broken step under his foot.

“Careful, Niche. This one’s broken. The others might break too.”

Niche grumbled. “Niche is stronger than Lag. Lag be careful.”

They stepped into the hallway and Lag looked around him. There were only two doors, left was 301 so Bree must live in the room to the right. As he stood at the doorway, rusted metal numbers before him, he wondered if he was right to come here. Zailia did mention that she had obtained and passed on Bree’s address without her knowing. What if she didn’t want anyone to know about her living conditions? No, he would apologize for that later. Bree’s health was most important right now.

He knocked once and felt the wood nudge itself open, much to his surprise. He hesitated once more. Why was her door unlocked? Did she leave it unlocked? Why would she leave it unlocked? Lag suddenly became very nervous. He pushed the door open with a tentative call of her name.

Brielle’s small apartment was the definition of cluttered. Lag had a fleeting sense of déjà vu to the time he delivered for Mr Alcott. The floor was exclusively covered with stacks and stacks of books. Some seemed to have been bound by Bree herself. Her bed lay against the far left wall and was a mere mattress on an old frame and was too covered in books. There was a surprisingly sturdy desk by the far right wall, a single, worn candle flickering upon its surface, surrounded by carelessly tossed spares and the remains of what were candles past. Pots of ink were lined neatly along the side of the desk, enough to last the girl a lifetime, Lag mused. The neatness of the setup was a striking difference to the utter chaos of the rest of her room. Any bare spot on the room’s walls was covered by haggard, home-made bookshelves, which were each tightly packed by even more books.

Lag took a careful step forward, making sure to not repeat the past mistakes he made at Vincent Alcott’s home, though he figured it was in vain, the stacks close to the entrance had already been toppled, as if someone had come in or out in a rush. For what reason would Bree have all these books? Was she also an author? He slowly turned a full circle, surveying the scene while also searching for a mop of brown curls amongst it. Before her could, however, he found a door, tucked away in the corner to the far right, near the desk.

A bathroom perhaps? Oh, Empress, if it was…he didn’t want to, uh, interrupt. Should he wait? Or should he announce his presence? Wait, no, there was no way he could do that, it would be so awkward. He should just wait. That’s the most polite thing to do. She wouldn’t be too long…right?

“Lag. It’s empty and full.”

Lag abandoned his deliberation to look at Niche who stood in the newly discovered, partially opened doorway.

“Niche! You can’t just—Wait, it’s…empty?”

The girl shook her head, “There’s lots of stuff. More full than Niche at tavern.”

Before he went barging in like his curiosity would like him to do, he should probably determine whether or not it actually was a bathroom. “What’s…What’s in there?”

Niche turned her head to look over her shoulder into the room. Rather than answering with words, Niche figured it would be easy to explain to her master by simply showing him the room. She threw the door open, revealing the inside to Lag.

It most definitely wasn’t a bathroom.

Perhaps once it was a bathroom. It was hard to tell, the room was stripped bare and rebuilt into…what was this? It was similar to the rest of Bree’s apartment except…rather than on the floor, it was on the walls. Pages and pages of notes and photos were tacked to the walls, strings of various colours connecting them. Lag stepped in, what was going on here? What was Bree doing? Where did she get all this? His questions boiled within him. The lump that formed in his throat made a part of him wonder if he was going to burst. This was too much. Too much for one day. He felt like he had lost all semblance of reality. He headed for the wall to his left and began to read.

‘Sabine Amaranth, 13, born on the 114th day. Encountered while heading to visiting her father at his workplace. Cause of death is exsanguination through laceration in abdomen. No significant connections.’

‘Courtney Parraseux, 12, born on the 96th day. Encountered while separated from her mother at markets. Cause of death is asphyxiation by human hands. Gloves used. 16 stab wounds additionally counted. No significant connections.’

‘Elise Murdock, 12, born on the 84th day. Encountered while returning home in the evening. Cause of death is yet undetermined, could be asphyxiation or exsanguination caused by severing of the trachea, carotid artery and jugular vein. No significant connections.’

The page featured three rough sketches of what appeared to be young girls. Lag recognized the faces from the Central Times. One for each victim of the recent murders. Three strings branched off from this page, once connecting from each picture of a girl to another page further down the wall. The next three pages featured in depth information about each girl right up to moment of her death. There was no way to verify how correct this information was, but it was obscenely specific, right down to their recent meals before death and even snippets of conversations. From these pages, strings connected to other profiles, some of which Lag recognized as townsfolk and shopkeepers from around Central. Each of these profiles had records of conversations regarding the deceased girls, things like their daily routes, behaviours and any previous interactions anyone had with them.

As Lag progressed, he felt himself grow colder and colder. But it was Niche’s discovery that brought him to freezing point.

“It’s Lag. And Sylvette.”

Niche’s monotone statement caused Lag to whirl around to find her looking at the wall to the right. She was looking up at more profiles, all of which Lag definitely recognized. The first were each of the tavern’s employees. Lag didn’t want to pry but he couldn’t help by catch a few statements scrawled upon the sheets of paper.

‘Azalea Hetran…….father unknown….mother missing….history of prostitution….thirty-four previous accounts of murder to current point…….previous bad end…currently stable….’

‘Zailia Hetran….father unknown…mother missing…history of abuse…anemia…stunted development due to malnutrition….memory deficiency and stunted growth are most prominent…’

‘Julia Torrente…..evicted from household….family history of mental health….temporary dwelling at church….recruited as marauder for Reverse due to poverty….previous bad end….currently stable…’

What did these mean. Thirty-four previous accounts of murder? Malnutrition? Lag had no idea. He didn’t know how to process this information. Should he even process this? Wouldn’t it be better to forget he had seen it at all? But he couldn’t help the anxiety churning in his stomach, pounding against his skull. Was…Azalea a murderer? Is Zailia sick? What’s a ‘marauder’? ‘Reverse’ sounded vaguely familiar but…

To the left of these profiles lay similar ones for Zazie, Connor, Sylvette, Aria, the Director, Dr Thunderland, even Gauche...all people Lag knew personally and all connected by a bright red string to a profile of himself, the longest of all the profiles.

There was information of everything he had done since he met Bree. All the deliveries he took and where they led him. Days he visited the tavern and snippets of ‘relevant’ conversations, many of which Lag didn’t remember, in fact a lot of the events that were listed he was sure never happened. It had an account of when Sylvette asked him to stay with her after he first came to Central. It had details about his entrance exam to become a Letter Bee. There was a string that attached his profile to Niche’s, both which clearly stated how they met and the events that occurred. Another string drifted off to a profile for his Aunt Sabrina, how she took Lag in, raised him, what she did during those five years, what she did before, how she met his mother…

His mother. His mother was mentioned on Aunt Sabrina’s profile, details unclear and surrounded by questions. He followed the string to a small profile labelled ‘Anne Seeing’. It was short and filled with questions and theories.

Lag stumbled back. He felt dizzy. His legs were failing him. Niche caught him as he felt back, eyes still glued to the profile of his mother. Niche called to her master, asking him if he was hurt, she even licked his face but he didn’t even respond. He was in shock.

Bree knew his mother, Bree knew his Aunt, Bree knew Gauche even though she told him she had never met him. Bree lied. Bree knew too much. Too much. Too much. How did she know so much?

Lag felt adrenaline rush through him, he had to leave. He needed to tell someone, he needed to tell the director. Bree…Bree was dangerous. In his haste, Lag stumbled over his feet and slammed into the desk in Bree’s apartment, just outside the door. He hissed with pain before pulling himself to his feet. He had to go, he had to leave this place—

“Lag?”

It was her.

“What are you doing here?”

She found him.

Her eyes narrowed. “What did you see?”

Lag turned his head slowly to look at Bree with wide eyes. He couldn’t respond, he couldn’t breathe. A part of him noted that Azalea was right, they had removed her arm. The limp sleeve of her sweater swung with each step forward she took. Zailia was right too, Bree looked sick. She was pale and each breath was raspy and heavy.

“Lag…please…you saw didn’t you?”

As his eyes raked over her form he noticed the object clutched in her remaining hand.

A large knife, stained with dry blood. Lag hadn’t seen the murder weapon before but he was certain it would be quite similar to what he was looking at right now.

“Why.” Lag could only manage one syllable sentences at that moment. Bree sighed slowly, her eyes lost all emotion, and she looked blank and cold.

“Will you let me explain?” she asked softly. Lag immediately shook his head in response. “I see.” Bree sagged forward, as if all energy had been drained from her. The blade fell from her hand and clattered noisily to the floor.

Lag took that as his chance, he pushed himself away from the desk and bolted out of the apartment, knocking Bree’s shoulder as he passed. She made no move to stop him.

Bree continued to stare at the spot Lag once stood. She didn’t move as he left her apartment, not as he raced down the hall, not as he reached the stairs, not even when she heard the crash and Niche’s shout of Lag’s name.

Bree waited until silence settled once more, until she could hear the murmurs of the tenants on the other floors, some curious and others irritated by the sudden noise. She took measured steps out of her apartment, her hand pressed firmly against the stump of her shoulder, as if to hold herself together. She stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the scene below. Niche shaking Lag’s body, tears quickly filling her eyes and blood filling her hands.

“It’s okay, Niche.” Bree said. “Just wait and everything will be fine.”

Niche begged her to help Lag and Bree quietly moved to step down, carefully avoiding the newly broken stairs. She struggled to remove her sweater and carefully laid it over Lag. “It’s probably better this way. Better to leave the stage instead of acting out a shitty ending.” She sighed deeply.

With her sweater removed, Bree’s injured shoulder was in full view. It was tightly bound in pure white bandages. She reached up with her remaining hand and   
scratched at the fabric before tugging at it.

“Why isn’t Lag waking up?” Niche shrieked.

“He was frightened of me and rushed out recklessly. The worn stair he broke on the way up caused him to trip. Bad angle on the fall caused cranio-cerebral trauma and resulted in fatality.” Bree’s face was eerily blank. “Even though the chance of such an injury is one out of five even for elderly, chance was still twisted to get the worst possible outcome this time too.”

Niche stared up at Bree, lost in words she didn’t understand, but the dingo knew it wasn’t good. “Will Lag wake up…?”

Bree shrugged. “Depends on how you look at it.” Bree’s words made nothing clearer and so Niche turned back to sobbing at her master, trying to get him to wake. 

Bree continued to tug at the bandages around her shoulder, tearing them off and dropping them carelessly on the floor. The stump of her shoulder were her arm once was revealed itself. There was no blood nor was there gore. Just a hollow opening with jagged edges, as if Bree was made of porcelain and her arm had simply snapped off. As soon as her ‘wound’ was in open air, an odd smoke-like substance began to gush from it. As it poured from her body, Bree began to visibly deteriorate. Her skin paled and she began to grow thinner, her veins became more prominent, but when looked at closely, it was more like slowly cracking glass than veins on skin. Bree sighed once more.

“I’m going to have to rewrite it all over again.”

\--End of Part One--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of part 1!!!  
> Next will be a lil interlude and then we'll be on to part 2  
> I hope you enjoy it!


	12. Interlude

“Bree?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you put up with your manager?” Lag sat at a table opposite of Bree, who was in charge of switching out the flowers in the vases placed upon each table. It was definitely an easy task, but Bree was making a fuss about the flowers’ arrangement but Lag knew she was only doing it so she could talk with him a while before he headed home. The tavern was mostly empty, save for the regular elderly couple that liked to sit at the table in the back left corner.

Bree smirked at his question and glanced at him over the flowers. “You mean besides the fact that he’s my boss?”

“That didn’t even seem to matter to you. You’ve spoken up against him before, haven’t you? You did on the day we met.” Lag frowned.

Bree smiled at the memory. “I did.” She stopped fussing and rested her arms on the table, staring upwards in thought. “I guess I call him out here and there, but if I really pissed him off…”

“You’d be fired?”

“It’d be worse than that. The other girls--”

“He’d fire them too?!”

She laughed. “I don’t think he’d go that far. I mean, he still needs staff. But I guess they just wouldn’t have it easy, y’know? Zal’s too timid so she’s an easy target who won’t complain, and if that pisses off Azalea then…”

Lag frowned again, if Azalea was riled up and went to Zailia’s defence, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Bree saw his expression and sighed.

“Azalea has good intentions but her methods tend to be a bit hot-headed. She’s a strong believer of actions speak better than words, if you catch my meaning.”

“Oh…” The pair was silent for a while, before Lag spoke again. “What about Julie?”

“Julie’s super into justice and stuff but…I don’t know. I shouldn’t talk about it behind her back.” Bree shot Lag a small smile.

“Oh, no! I shouldn’t be so nosy.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. You’re nosy because you care and I like that about you.” Lag felt his cheeks grow warm with the compliment. “The point is…I put up with Rupert’s shitty behaviour because I’m scared of what will happen to the others if I’m not around, you know? I know it sounds arrogant of me to assume that they can’t protect themselves but…I’ve known these people a long time, Lag. I know them very, very well.”

Lag didn’t know what to say. The expression on Bree’s face seemed aged, as if she was much older and more mature than she appeared.

It was silent again and Bree went back to fiddling with the flowers, a small, oddly reminiscent smile on her lips.

“…You care about them a lot.” Lag said quietly, looking down at the cup sitting before him. He wasn’t sure if he should look at her face right now, it seemed strangely intimate, the conversation they were having. 

“I do.” Her reply was simple. “I have something worth protecting here, Lag. And it’s something I had to fight to get. I can’t lose it. It’s not so different from your aspirations as a Letter Bee.”

He looked up at that, tilting his head as he wondered what she meant.

She glanced at him with a smile as she shifted a tulip. “You deliver letters so that the Heart within them can be heard, right? But what about those who can’t write letters? Those who can’t afford stamps or for whatever reason are forbidden to speak out? Do you think their Hearts should go unheard?”

Lag shook his head wildly. “Of course not!”

Bree smiled at him again. “I figured you’d agree with me. I just want the Hearts here in this tavern to be heard. That’s all.”

“Hey! Bree! Are you trying to organise the cells of those plants?! What’s taking so long?!” A damp towel collides with Bree’s face just as she turns to look at who scolded her. Azalea laughs from the kitchen and waves at Lag as he looks her way as well.

Bree snorts and pulls the rag from her face and attempts to launch it back at her friend, but misses by far, causing both girls to break into laughter once more.

“Don’t give me shit for slacking when I literally covered you not even two hours ago!” Bree smirked and stood.

“At least I get something out of my slacking.”

“I really do not want to hear about impure interactions.”

“Oh, my Empress, you sound like Zal!!”

“Yes?” Zailia poked her head out from behind the counter where she was cleaning, a look of confusion on her face. Azalea and Bree laughed again assuring the younger girl that it was nothing and no they weren’t teasing her.

Lag smiled fondly. “You get along really well with everyone.” He said to Bree who looked down at him. “I think…you’re a good person, Bree.”

Bree stared at him, stunned, for a moment before a gentle smile slowly appeared. “Thank you, Lag. I’m kind of like Azalea, I guess. My intentions are good, even if my method isn’t. I’ll do my best to make sure you continue to think that way about me.” She gave him a wink and one last grin before she turned and finally continued to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know what to do as an interlude so I thought I'd just use this little scene thing that I wrote and couldn't find a place for.  
> Hope you enjoy it.


	13. The Ivory Tree Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lag finds a cafe on the main street of Central and thinks he's been in this situation sometime before...

Lag was alone, bored and completely unsure what to do with himself. Sylvette had gone off grocery shopping, and had taken Niche with her, which left Lag with at least half a bell to himself for whatever he wanted.

…but he had no idea what he wanted.

You’d think after the few months he’d been living in Central he’d have some idea on how to entertain himself while his housemate ran some errands, but apparently not.

And so, Lag Seeing found himself wandering random streets of Central, window shopping.

Central Yuusari was nice this time of year, a warm breeze washed through the streets, kicking up leaves and flower petals that sprinkled the cobblestone roads. As 

Lag wandered through the streets, he found himself outside a small café. It was kind of cute, the structure was made from mahogany, with two large stained-glass windows at the front. Small flower plants lined the front of the store, as well as a wreath which decorated a small menu chalkboard advertising the apparently famed tea of the day.

Lag stopped and stared, should he go in? He wasn’t that hungry, but if the tea was that good, it couldn’t hurt to try.

He opened the door, and a bell rang out through the small place. It was quite busy, there was a total of five tables in the room and two booths, which were all filled, except for two tables, each with a small bouquet in the centre. There was a freshly polished piano against the far wall to Lag’s left, and an old record player beside it. 

He guessed it got too expensive for live acts these days, but was glad to see that someone still bothered to clean it. There were two children about Niche’s age standing at the piano, playing what sounded like nursery rhymes to each other.

A burly man stood behind the counter, dressed neatly in a button-up white shirt, his dark trousers obscured by the apron wrapped around his waist. His hair and beard are neatly trimmed and his eyes are warm as he jokes with another male customer. Lag feels oddly uncomfortable as the welcoming atmosphere of the man, as if it was against his usual nature. But he’s never met this man before, how would he know anything about him? The man waves off the male customer with a jaunty smile and catches sight of Lag as he looks back over the café. Lag visibly flinches when the man’s gaze settles on him.

“Ah, customer! Welcome! Take a seat anywhere you can find, lad! I’ll have someone see to you shortly.” He grins and turns to head out back to what Lag assumes is the kitchen. “Bree! You’re up!”

Lag hears a female voice groan. “Hang on, I’m still writing…!”

“Still writing?!” The man laughs. “Come on now, you begged me for ages to put you on roster today! Out you come!”

A girl appears in the doorway separating the dining room from the kitchen with a sigh. “Yeah, I’m on it, Rupert.” The girl had brown ringlets that tumbled over her shoulders, her blue eyes find Lag and she seems to freeze, a look of surprise on her face for the briefest of moments before she breaks out into a wide grin and strides over.

“Hey, there! I’m Bree, what can I get for you?”

Lag feels really uncomfortable. He doesn’t know why but something feels really, really off.

“Um…could I…just have some water, please?”

The girl, Bree, gives him a concerned look. “Yeah, sure…I’ll be right back.” She turns and heads back to the back room, sparing a glance over her shoulder to him.

Lag took off his cap and ran a hand briefly through his hair. He needed to get a better grip on himself, he can’t just go around freaking out waitresses.

Said waitress returns and places his water in front of him. He begins to look up to thank her with a smile but stops when he sees her place another cup in front of him.

“It’s not our tea of the day,” She says, “But our barista said it’s a special blend that helps with relaxation.” She smiles. “And don’t worry, it’s on me. Hope you cheer up, little Bee.”

Lag opens his mouth to say something to her, but she’s called by a neighbouring table and with an apologetic smile, she’s gone.

Lag looks to the tea before him and then glances warily at the burly man, ‘Rupert’ she called him? Lag didn’t know why he felt oddly wary, he really shouldn’t discriminate against the man just because he had a large stature. Maybe this tea really would do him some good. He might even excuse himself early for bed once he got home.

He lifted the tea cup, taking his time to appreciate the gorgeous floral pattern that designed its exterior and a part of him wondered if he should take up art in his spare time. He slowly took a sip, and then a second, and then a third. The tea really was delicious, he could see how it was famous. As the warmth of the liquid spread through him, he could feel himself becoming more relaxed. He absentmindedly looked around the café, admiring its warm, forest-like décor. Maybe he should come here again. Perhaps even with Sylvette, Lag is sure she would enjoy a place like this.

As he muses, he finds his gaze pulled to the girl Bree as she moves around the café, serving the different customers and chatting with them as she went. She even stopped here and there to joke with the other waitresses going by, an older girl with black hair pulled into a messy braid and fox like eyes and another with cropped red hair and a reliable air to her. They seemed close, both the workers and the customers. The atmosphere really was very nice, it made him feel weirdly nostalgic.

He wanted to talk to her.

He finished his tea slowly, paid his bill with minimal talk to the man behind the counter and left without a word. When he got home, he asked Sylvette if she knew the café down on Yasoumichi.

\--xXx—xXx—

The next morning, as Lag trudged along to work, he found himself contemplating. He wanted to return to that café. He remembered the communal atmosphere of the place and felt memories of his childhood surface with feelings of comradery and comfort. He just liked the vibe of the café, it felt familiar and it felt…homey.

Also he needed to thank the girl, Bree, for giving him a free beverage. It was awfully kind of her.

“Niche?” The dingo looked to her master at the sound of her name. “Do you mind if we stop somewhere first?”

The maka girl blinked slowly but said nothing, which wasn’t a no, so Lag took it as a yes. It was still early and he wasn’t sure if it was even open, but it wasn’t much of a detour since it was on the main street in Central. He’d just pop his head in, thank Bree if she was there, and leave. Perfect. Nice and casual.

However, when he arrived at the venue, he found it to be locked, which he expected to some degree, but still…

He sighed. “Come on, Niche.” As he turned to continue down the street towards the BeeHive, he was met with Bree, standing not too far away with a befuddled expression.

“Why’re you…”

“Ah! I know I wasn’t invited or anything,” Her shoulders seemed to slump in relief at his statement, he supposed she was worried she forgot some promise. “But since it was on the way I thought I’d stop by and thank you for yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” She frowned slightly as she sifted through her memories. “Oh! The tea!” She smiled. “It’s not trouble at all. Are you feeling better today?”

“Ah, yes…thank you…”

A somewhat awkward silence fell over the two, both seemingly at a loss as to what to say. Suddenly, Bree chuckled, moving forward to sidle past Lag to get to the front door of the café which she unlocked. “Listen, I can’t do much for you now since we’re not even technically open and nothing’s ready yet,” She opened the door and then smiled at him over her shoulder. “But if you want, come back after you finish work? You seemed trouble yesterday and I’m happy to listen. I might not look it, but I’ve dealt with a lot. Y’know, being in the retail industry.”

“Oh, uh, sure. It’s not too much trouble is it? I mean—“

“Is it weird to be hanging out with your waitress you’ve only met once?” She joked.

“N-No, I mean…”

She chuckled once more and turned to face Lag fully, extending her hand to shake. “I know I introduced myself yesterday, but I’m doing it again, this time not as your waitress, but as a person. My name’s Bree. I think being a Letter Bee is really cool considering I spend all my time in this café and would love to hear what it’s like.”   
She grinned.

He took her hand and returned her smile. “Lag Seeing. I’m aiming to become Head Bee.”

“Head Bee, huh…” She let go of his hand and headed inside the tavern, pausing mid-way in shutting the door to give him one last look. “Well, future-Head-Bee, I look forward to seeing you around.”

Lag nodded and turned on his heel, waving as he headed off down to road. Bree watched him go with a fond smile and wondered what the future had in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure there's more questions than answers right now but I promise the answers will come!!  
> I hope you're enjoying the ride so far and I would love to know any theories there may be :)  
> also check out that cheesy ending 10/10


	14. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bree is still writing whatever she is writing and Azalea decides to open up about her past.

“Writing still?”

Bree turned from where she was wistfully staring out the front window of the café to look at Azalea, smirking as she folded dish cloths at the next table over. Bree looked down at the……well, it could hardly be called a book. It was more of a hastily bound pile of pages, wrapped together in cheap string and some old fabric she bought with her last pay-check from the sale table at the shop down the road.

“Yeah…” Bree chuckled. “I’m a bit behind schedule.”

“I don’t know if it’s a journal or whatever but you’re definitely dedicated, I’ll give you that. You’ve been writing since I met you.” Azalea shook her head in disbelief. 

“How many books has it been now?”

Bree ran her hand over the frayed edges of the fabric ‘cover’. “I always lose count.”

“I really want to know what you’re writing. I mean, you’re way too dedicated for it to be just a journal.” Azalea lips quirked into a smile as she saw Bree’s hand tighten protectively around the book. “But I won’t. That’s your business. And besides, Zal would get mad at me.”

“Empress forbid you anger our lovely princess.”

Azalea shrugged. “She’s all I got. I have to make my baby sister smile.”

Bree smiled fondly, but her eyes were sad. “I know.”

Azalea wondered what the meaning was behind those eyes.

But she knew better than to ask. As she said, it wasn’t her business to pry into the secrets of the one who gave Zailia and her a home.

“So, uh…hey! Haven’t seen that Bee kid around lately. The little one with the silver hair.”

“Lag? Yeah, he’s heading to Honey Waters today.” Bree answered absentmindedly.

“How’d you know that? I just said he hadn’t been around lately.” Azalea frowned and paused mid fold.

Bree seemed to freeze only for the briefest of moments as she realised her mistake. She tried to keep her voice even as she covered for her blunder. “I heard it from Sylvette. You know, the girl in the wheelchair he’s been bringing with him?” 

Luckily, Azalea seemed to buy it, considering she didn’t really associate too much with Bree’s new entourage, and merely hummed in response. The Sylvette girl seemed to get along well with Zailia too, perhaps she would get to know their new regular customer next time she popped in.

“Anyway…Honey Waters, huh? You think he’ll be alright? There’s drama in those parts, isn’t there?” Azalea moved her pile of unfolded dish cloths to sit on the opposite side of Bree. “Last I heard they hadn’t changed on their whole ‘no Bees’ thing.”

“One of his friends is going with him, plus they both have their dingos.”

“I still can’t believe that tiny kid is a dingo.” Azalea scoffed.

“Niche? Tell me one time you’ve looked at her and not felt threatened.”

“Felt like looking a mirror.”

Bree’s hand stopped writing but she didn’t look up from her page. Azalea had never brought up her past before. She never even talked about herself unless it was unabashed gloating or singing her sexual conquests. Bree didn’t want to pry. She was scared of breaking this moment but she was also scared of letting it continue. 

This was unprecedented. It was new. She hadn’t recorded anything like this before in her notes—

“Zailia has gained some weight.”

Bree’s gaze snapped up, her eyes wide at Azalea’s words. “Really?”

“Yeah, Thunderland’s pleased with how she’s going. She’ll be able to drop the supplements soon.”

“You’re still going with her to those appointments?”

“I don’t trust that fuckin’ guy! You should’a seen Zal’s face the first time we went in there! She could barely keep it together!” Azalea smacked her hand down on the table.

Bree smirked. “Isn’t Rupert acting as her guardian for all this stuff? I thought he was doing okay.”

Azalea huffed, turning her head to the side to spit. “Yeah, he’s not a deadbeat but I know my kid sister better.”

For a moment there was comfortable silence. With Azalea staring out the window into the distance, Bree returned to her writing.

“They tried to talk to me too.”

Bree glanced up through her lashes before returning to her writing. “About Zal?”

“About me.”

Oh.

Bree fidgeted. Now they’re back in this weird moment where Azalea weirdly has emotions and Bree is unprepared.

“When that woman disappeared, Zal was could still be called a baby. I did what I had to, so she could live.”

Of course, Bree knew all this already. About the Hetran sisters and their runaway single mother. She knew that they had nothing, that Azalea sold what little she had so that Zailia could get something, anything to eat. All Azalea had was her sister and herself and if selling Zailia was off the table then there was only one thing she could do.

When Bree met them after five years of that horrible life in their decrepit hometown, the damage was visible. Zailia was dying, no medicine to fight seasonal illnesses   
and even less food, her childhood no doubt left permanent scars on her body. Always so fragile and never growing. Azalea was no better, her physical scars only outweighed by her psychological ones. She had been hurt enough and was ready to burn the world herself. Bree knew very well that Azalea could have and would have succeeded at that.

“I kept a kid from becoming road kill.” Azalea continued. “That’s all there is to it. I told them where they could shove their ‘professional support’.” She spat again, and Bree really hoped she would clean that particular area of the floor later.

Azalea was silent again and Bree was nervous to move even to continue to write. She knew Azalea to be distant and almost sociopathic in her behaviours, completely hollowed out from her past. She also knew her to be quick to anger and merciless in her actions. This situation they were in right now…

It was so unbelievably uncharacteristic of the older girl that Bree felt the urge to just run.

“Rupert talked to me after.” Azalea’s voice quietened a little. “He said we weren’t so different. How he was dealing with shit after he lost his own kid.”

Bree just stared at Azalea, not daring to even blink.

Azalea turned her gaze to match Bree’s. “Why’d you bring us here? Why’d you even take us anywhere? Give us jobs and a place to stay and a fuckin’ normal life? Why’d you pick Rupert Geodes of all people of Central?” Her voice grew louder with each question.

“I just…” Bree blinked slowly. She genuinely didn’t know what the right thing to say here could be. “I just thought it was better to feel shitty together than alone, I guess.” She hoped that was vague enough. She knew Azalea would lose it if she thought that the older girl needed help or that she was too dangerous to live freely.

Azalea, thankfully, seemed to accept that answer and her voice was more measured when she spoke again. “Did you know if it would work out?”

“No.” That statement was true without a doubt. The choice she made then was a desperate whim; to bring the sisters to Central, to Rupert Geodes, and hope that the domesticity would stabilise Azalea and the company of a new adoptive family would fill the void in Rupert he was filling with alcohol. Bree had never attempted such a thing before, she was sure lady luck would be against her in this gamble, along with everything else.

Azalea said nothing more and Bree waited carefully before she spoke again. “Do you regret coming here?”

The older girl stood, taking the long forgotten pile of folded dish cloths and heading towards the kitchen at the back. Bree was almost consumed with doubt when she was saved by Azalea’s reply.

“I don’t.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah.”

With that answer, Bree was pretty confident that Azalea was not going to have a breakdown.

“What brought this on?” She asked.

Azalea shrugged as she placed the dish cloths by the sink. “I’unno. Rupert said it would help me or something.”

“And since when do you give a shit about Rupert?”

“I dunno. I’ve been having nightmares lately. Like super realistic ones. Ones where you never showed up back then and I just…lost it. Killed a bunch of people. Like a bunch of people. I even… killed your little Bee friend. I don’t know why but it really got to me. The dreams, I mean. Rupert said he’s been having something like that too so he’s helping me out and it’s working. That’s it.” Azalea’s tone clearly indicated she was done with this conversation. As she described her dreams…Bree had never heard Azalea speak so softly.

These weren’t just nightmares. Something was up. Bree needed to know exactly what Azalea saw in her dreams.

She hurriedly packed up her writing utensils and shoved her book under her arm. “I have to go. I’ll cover someone’s shift later so cover for me this time, okay?” And with that Bree was out the café’s front door before Azalea could even reply.

Bree had to restrain herself from outright running home. Azalea having nightmares. Rupert having nightmares. Explicit nightmares. Nightmares about serial murders. 

Azalea deciding to rely on someone and open up.

All of this was new. Too new.

Something about this Time was different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if I vanish for a long time, I'll continue to write this. It's been far too long to stop now.  
> I hope you enjoyed!!


	15. Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lag finds Gauche but it goes badly so Aria and Sylvette throw a party. Niche decides underwear is for chumps.

Lag came back to Central just under two days later and with him he carried foreboding news.

Gauche Suede had been found, but he had lost his heart. Lag did all he could to try and convince Gauche to come home but to no avail. All he got was a shot to the stomach and an aggravated Niche, brooding over her defeat at the hands of Gauche’s new dingo girl who called herself Roda.

He solemnly reported his findings to the Director and Aria and was instructed to help with paperwork until the end of his shift. No doubt a punishment for his failure to achieve the one thing he boasted that he would.

Aria…must be so disappointed. The only thought that drowned out that one was his dread at telling Sylvette. He didn’t want to go home. To the home where he slept in what was Gauche’s room. He said it would only be until he brought Gauche back, but he couldn’t even do that. Now he’s just a useless freeloader.

Lag doesn’t remember when he finished his shoddy excuse for paperwork or when he carried himself out of the Beehive. It seems to be instinct alone that plonks him on a park bench, steering him away from his journey home.

In his head, he rehearsed. How would he tell Sylvette? What kind of expression would she make? Would she cry? Of course she would cry, it’s her big brother.

Meanwhile, as Lag stews in his thoughts, the afternoon service at the Ivory Tree was in a good rhythm.

The talk between Azalea and Bree hadn’t affected the mood of the café at all, much to Bree’s relief. As she promised earlier, Bree opted in for a shift in order to make up for her dash two days earlier. She had just finished off service for the two booths and the recently installed third when she heard the front door’s bell chime, signalling a new customer.

“Welcome! Oh, you’re…the assistant Director of the Beehive…right?”

Everyone who knew of the postal system knew of Aria Link. The real reason why the Hive hadn’t spontaneously combusted since the time that Largo Lloyd was made Director. She had only made an appearance in the Ivory Tree once before, to pick up an order of tea leaves that the Director had requested. From those few encounters alone, Bree knew Aria was not necessarily strict, but determined and meticulous but with a compassionate side for the many young Bees under her watch. Of course, many knew about her healing shindans as well. Regardless, Aria was the type to have a mission and to achieve it perfectly at all costs. So when Bree saw her expression as she entered the café, she couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.

“Does Director Lloyd have an order?” Bree hoped.

“No, I’m here to see you, actually. You’re Bree, correct?” Oh jeez.

Though Aria was smiling and seemed polite as ever, Bree still thought it best to quickly go over all her actions over the past week in case she did something that warranted government intervention.

It was not looking good.

“Um, I am…but, uh…”

Bree’s expression must have given away her concerns because Aria’s smile softened. “Sylvette sent me. She suggested inviting you over.”

“Oh. Well, that’s cool, I guess. But, uh, is there a special occasion or something that warrants _you_ coming here personally to invite me?”

“Can I explain on the way? We’re in a bit of a rush, we’re expecting Lag home any minute now.”

So this is about Lag, then. “Oh, uh, sure. Let me just…” Bree trailed off as she turned and headed over to the counter where Rupert stood in his normal spot by the till, ever the sociable manager, chatting with whatever customers happened to be nearby.

“Rupert!” She called as she approached. “Aria Link, assistant Director of the Beehive is here, she’s summoning me to something. Mind if I step out?”

Rupert’s eyes narrowed. “Azalea told me you were supposed to be filling in for the last time you had to ‘step out’.”

Bree shifted on her feet and gave an awkward laugh. “Yeah well, duty calls I guess?”

“Must be some duty if the assistant Director of the Hive is here to get you.” He huffs and then breaks out in a teasing grin. “Alright then, off ya go. Be sure to fill us in when you get back.”

Bree gave a mock salute and headed out after Aria who wasted no time explaining the situation as they got on the road.

“Lag _found_ Gauche Suede?” Bree couldn’t help but interrupt. “That’s insane! It’s been like, what, five years?”

“It’s true. We weren’t expecting any news, much less news like this. I know we haven’t spoke but as a friend of Sylvette, I’m sure you can imagine what this must mean for her.”

“Yeah, she must be ecstatic, right?”

“She is.” Aria smiled, fondly. “But Lag isn’t.”

Bree immediately frowned. “What? Why? Lag worshipped Gauche. Why wouldn’t he be vibrating with happiness or something?”

“Honestly I don’t know exactly.” Aria sighed. “But all he did was apologize when I spoke to him.”

“Guess you can’t really leave it like that.” Bree said, mostly to herself that to Aria, who hummed in response anyway. “So, we’re throwing a party to cheer up Lag. That’s…really nice of you. Definitely one of the better bosses out there.”

Aria grinned as she looked down at the girl at her side. “I’m not _your_ boss but thank you.”

“Is it cool if I call you Aria then?”

“I suppose so.”

Bree broke out in a grin. “Cool.”

As the two of them drew closer to the Suede home, they met with Connor, who told them that Zazie would be joining them later.

With a hearty order to scramble dash from Aria, they arrived at Sylvette’s home and were promptly ushered in and handed party poppers and hats.

It didn’t take long for them to hear the sounds of Lag hesitating outside the door. With Sylvette’s whispered order to be prepared, they were ready to welcome him home.

His reaction alone to the onslaught of confetti and shout of ‘surprise!’ made ditching work worth it, as far as Bree was concerned. His expression showed that he didn’t know whether to run away or cry.

All he managed to articulate in his confusion was a garbled mix of several questions all them basically asking _why is there confetti when he’s trying to mope_.

“I heard everything from Aria.” Sylvette explained. “So this is a celebration, Lag. To celebrate you finding my brother.”

Lag looked down, ashamed and teary. “A cele…bration…? No way…” He sniffed. “But…I couldn’t bring him back.”

“Crybaby!!” Sylvette’s exclamation seemed to shake the house. Bree snorted and then coughed so to not ruin the moment. “Crybaby! You really are a much bigger crybaby than me!”

This was pretty much out of Lag’s range of expectations in regards to how Sylvette to react to him failing to allow her to not be an orphan.

Apparently though, her outburst continued. “Lag, you told me that you’d become a Letter Bee and find my brother. You really did keep your promise!” Oh. Well, when it’s put like that…

“I’m happy…” Sylvette continued, slowly rolling forward to grab at Lag’s arms. “My brother is alive and to find out so quickly…Thank you, Lag.”

Lag really didn’t know what to say. Since when had he become so pessimistic? How could he not have thought about Sylvette’s feelings? For her, who had lived five years alone, with all hope lost…If it was him hearing news about his mother…of course he would feel the same way.

“I believe in you, Lag. After all, you told me you’d get my brother’s heart back, so that one day…together with my brother and everyone we could have a much bigger, better celebration…!” And it seems with that, the dam broke.

Sylvette, who had been doing so well holding it together throughout her speech, finally let out a wail as she continued to pronounce her belief in Lag, who wasn’t fairing any better. The figment of her hope was snotting all over himself, barely able to speak correctly as the two of them fought in tears over who was the bigger crybaby.

At least, that’s what Bree thought was going on. It was anyone’s guess at this point.

“Somehow, they really resemble each other. They go well together.” Aria said with a fond smile. Bree huffed in agreement.

“Deputy Director! Don’t say that! Niche will get jealous…” Connor started before trailing off as everyone present realised that there was a severe lack of vaguely intimidating inappropriate comments.

“Niche? Is she not with you, Lag? That’s rare.” Bree commented.

Luckily, Lag stopped choking on his own tears in order to reply. “She didn’t come back before me?”

Oh, Empress. They lost a violent seven-year-old. A whole-ass child. A child with swords for hair and a…a…honestly, what was Steak?

“Hey, it’s nice in here! Sorry for intruding!” At that moment the door opened and their final guest arrived.

“Zazie!”

“Great, I made in time for food. Lag, this was outside the door!” Zazie handed a wad of some kind of fabric to Lag.

Sylvette recognised them before Lag could however, as she spread the fabric between her hands. “Lag! These are Niche’s underwear!”

…

Bree put her head in her hands. Oh, for fucks sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t u hate it when u gotta do filler chapters filled with canon plot just to move shit along.  
> Fml  
> Not my best but it is what it is for what it is. Which is filler. The next chapter won’t be me literally reading the manga side by side this as I write I swear.


End file.
